Project Infinite
by infinitethejackal
Summary: As a creation of Eggman that was inspired by the notorious doctor's late grandfather and his pursuit to produce the ultimate lifeform, this story follows an artificial Infinite the Jackal after the war, having been saved by the very same wolf that helped take him down. No longer having a purpose, Gadget teaches him that he can decide his own - regardless of his origins.
1. How the Mighty Have Fallen

"When defeat is inevitable, it is wisest to yield." - Quintilian

* * *

 **i.**

In hindsight, perhaps conjuring a giant sun was a mistake.

...

Ok, in hindsight, perhaps Infinite had made a _lot_ of mistakes.

With his eardrums ringing, head throbbing, and vision swarming with black dots, a lone jackal bordered the brink of collapse. Sides heaved with each staggering breath he pulled from the stagnant air and he swayed on his footing, dangerously close to toppling backward right over the edge of the imperial tower. Overcome with dizziness and fatigue, lifting even just one foot felt as though his boots had been filled with thick cement, and as he wrestled to cling to consciousness like it were a wet bar of soap in hand the world spun around him in a nauseating blur.

The fleeting thought of throwing up inside his mask prompted him to grimace and swallow. His throat was uncomfortably dry and scratchy, and there was a faint, lingering taste of iron accompanying smoky undertones from the pollution in the area – courtesy of all Eggman's machinery. Internal bleeding…? No, no, they - they hadn't hit hard enough for _that._ Probably.

Uttering a feeble string of profanities, Infinite dismissed the possibility with a shake of his head, unkempt, thick locks of hair tumbling over his shoulders as he did so, and forced himself to persevere without giving it much further contemplation.

 _Act now, be bitter about the situation later… don't stop, don't stop, don't stop._

His strength was wavering and he couldn't afford to pass out, not here, and especially not when he was so _close_.

Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other plans. Or at the very least wanted to make things difficult and test his persistence.

Without warning, tired legs buckled underneath the strain of his weight. All control and balance were lost as he was sent careening forward, and Infinite crashed down with a graceless _thud_ , only to land directly upon the gem lodged firmly in his chest. Surprisingly it sustained no damage, not even a crack on its gleaming surface, but the same couldn't quite be said for himself.

Oh god. Oh _god,_ fuck, shit that hurt.

An almost inhuman, guttural howl erupted immediately upon impact, violently tearing from Infinite's vocal chords as searing agony flared in his chest and overwhelmed his senses in just a matter of seconds. Following that were a series of splutters and coughs, the abrupt hollering having only further aggravated his trachea. Vaguely, he grasped the sensation of something wet dribbling down over his lip, most certainly blood.

The jackal shuddered, barely able to move as he waited out the involuntary convulsions that accompanied his ceaseless hacking. Limbs twitched but otherwise refused to respond, and although it was generally very difficult to shift the ruby from its fixed placement even slightly, he could still feel the blasted thing digging hard inside his body, pushing into his vitals the longer he remained in this position.

He had to - he had to alleviate the pressure.

Accompanied by many undignified grunts, Infinite began to wriggle as much as he could manage, fighting the near-immobilising pain and attempting to roll over onto his back. This took several trial-and-errors before he gained the necessary momentum to turn and was rewarded with a slow relief. His arms and legs splayed uselessly as he lay like a beached starfish, eyes - or rather eye, singular, given that his mask featured only one hole - cast to the sky above, painted in a vast array of hues such as dark grey, light grey, and oh - look! _More fucking grey._

... At least, he assumed grey; the coloured glass of his mask gave everything a reddish tint.

Was a storm on the way? Hah. Such a dismal atmosphere was rather fitting for his current predicament, wasn't it? It was as if it had been planned this way, like the universe was laughing at him.

Aimlessly staring into the bleak, murky void above, Infinite almost felt as though it was gazing right back. Invisible eyes, trained on him, watching him – unsettled, his skin crawled.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

...

" _Answer me!_ You think this is funny?!"

...

No response.

Of course there was no damn response, what was he expecting? A booming voice from the heavens?

 _I must be going mad._

A pause.

 _Tch._ _ **Going.**_

With the pangs in his chest having gradually ebbed away back into milder and more endurable twinges, he found himself just about able to move again. Infinite pushed up into a sitting position, ignoring the creaking protests of, well, his everything, and adjusted his mask. Whether or not he was losing grasp of his sanity, he needed to quit wasting time. Cussing out unseen deities wasn't going to solve anything.

So what would? Well, he needed to replenish the ruby.

Infinitely carefully rose and attempted to stand, but only fell back to his knees as he was rewarded for his efforts with a fresh wave of pain.

 _Shit._

 _Crawling it is then._

The jackal dragged himself along, so degraded, so _helpless_ , with what little stamina remained to muster toward the protruding centre of the structure. There was a small door leading inside, and he knew that the space within housed two things; an emergency elevator to travel to ground level, and a power outlet. The latter was exactly why he came here in the first place.

Even his tail now laid slack, trailing on the ground behind him and gathering dust. The very fabrication of reality felt like it was distorting, coming apart around him with his every motion until nullspace would be born anew and devour his body whole with an invisible maw.

Still, he continued forward.

Voices gathered in his head, overlapping in a crescendo that only intensified his ever-present migraine.

Still, he continued forward.

They whispered, yet they were so _loud_ , taunting and _mocking_. And every single one of them was his own, spewing deprecation like blood from a bullet wound.

 _You're so fucking weak._

Infinite reached the door.

 _ **You're so fucking pathetic.**_

Infinite tried to open the door.

 _ **You're so fucking useless.**_

The door was locked.

Deep breaths. Ribs expanding, lungs aching. They burned and screamed for respite as if the whole world's ashes were caught in his windpipe, clumping together to suffocate him in an act of karma for his sins. The door was locked. _The door was fucking locked_ , and if he couldn't get in there he couldn't – he –

He tried to force himself to calm. Should he fall into a state of panic, it would only make things even worse. Regardless, his mind garnered only doubt, and his gut churned incessantly, festering with absolute dread. Infinite had come here knowing it was best shot at recovering his strength. He had come here knowing it was his _only_ shot. But rather than fixing things, it would appear he'd instead effectively stranded himself.

The jackal stared at the source of the problem; the dead control panel attached to the wall. Out of juice. That meant someone must have – that loathsome _rodent!_ It had to be _**him!**_ Him and his little rag-tag resistance, they must have gone for the reactor! It resided deep in the empire fortress, and without it functioning, no power. No power? No entry. He wasn't capable enough in this condition to just pry it open, either.

Overcome by a surge of pure rage, he slammed his fist into the door, over and _over_ and _**over**_ until his knuckles went numb beneath the thick leather of his gloves. All of this, _all of this,_ everything he had overcome just to - just to be thwarted by a _**goddamn metal slab!**_

Then again, this also meant the outlet wouldn't be working either, even if he could get in.

...

He was going to die.

 _Oh god, he was going to die._

And he was going to die an utmost miserable death, at that; cold, in incomprehensible levels of disorientation and agony, and completely alone. There was no way out now. Not even the Doctor had come to get him, he was probably fighting his own battle now because –

Because Infinite had failed.  
He was created with one purpose and one purpose only, and he had fucking _failed._

His body was… was so _frail._ Damnit, he despised it, sick and repulsed to his core by his own inadequacy. Why? _Why?!_ He had almost made it, he had it in the bag, all his work and all the gruelling fights and… and…

 _So this it how it all ends._

 _I'm sorry._

The jackal released a broken, rasping chuckle of defeat, crumpling in exhaustion with nothing left to do but resign himself, to yield to his fate and ponder over everything that his existence and actions had amounted to. Fighting this would only be drawing out the inevitable.

With its energy draining on a greater and greater scale each passing minute, the ruby was sapping his life essence to fulfil itself like a parasitic leech attached to his chest, and Infinite had only one choice remaining: _accept it._

* * *

Gadget thought he should be feeling more triumphant. In fact, no - he _knew_ he should.

After six long, painful months, the resistance had finally prevailed. They had ended Eggman and Infinite's reign over their world once and for all; the war was over. And yet... and yet - the red wolf couldn't bring himself to celebrate their hard-earned victories alongside everybody else.

Maybe he was a killjoy or a pessimist but, well, while the toughest battle had been won, he, Gadget couldn't help but be acutely aware of the fact it left so many more behind in its wake. Things weren't just automatically going to be ok now and it felt... _weird_ to rejoice so soon.

Far over half the planet was still neck-deep in chaos and in dire need of reconstruction, and that was certainly not going to be fixed overnight - hell, it would likely take several months and hundreds of hands to fully repair even one small city... the extent of Eggman's tyranny had been next to boundless. Various buildings and other structures were either extensively damaged or reduced to mere piles of rubble far beyond salvage, pollution cloaked the seas and skies overhead like a suffocating veil, and everyday backbones of society such as currency and shops had become completely dysfunctional long ago when it became such a dire matter of survival.

While their boss may have been dethroned some of the doctor's robots also continued to run amok according to their programming, countless people were either deemed lost or dead with tolls sure to continue rising for god knows how long, and many of those who weren't suffered casualties and packed the hospitals, staffed by overworked nurses who were low on supplies but still desperate to give aid to the masses.

And that - that all still merely scratched the surface.

What about the _mental_ trauma?

Not all the damage caused in the war had been physical and it wouldn't surprise Gadget if the entire population was in need of _some_ form of therapy, including the therapists themselves.

Therapists... he hoped Sam was ok. Both physically _and_ mentally speaking.

Managing to come out of this situation entirely unscathed just… just wasn't realistic. Probably even for him. During all the ceaseless fighting, everyone had forced themselves to stay strong, had gulped down their fears like taking a pill with a parched throat as their knees shook and hands trembled. Among all the fatalities, the pain, no mobian could afford to mourn what was taken away lest it only render them even more vulnerable and affect their chances of staying alive. Even grieving was a luxury nobody had.

A luxury _he_ never had.

But now, it was over. And it being over meant that people could finally process their losses, and just how awful the war really was. The agony of these six months was sure to catch up to everyone now that it no longer had to be suppressed, horrific realities hitting with the force of a speeding truck.

God, he really _was_ a pessimist, wasn't he?

There was something else on Gadget's mind too. Something - or rather some _one_ \- far more sinister.

Infinite.

Gadget felt his skin crawl at his name alone.

They had beaten the jackal. He knew that, he _knew_ but something just felt _off._ His mind ran through it again; played the memories back like a tape on stuck on a rewind loop.

Those last words.

The way his body phased in and out.

And then he was gone, in a trail of crimson light.

He had disappeared but they'd never seen him actually... die.

Sonic oddly hadn't commented on it at the time, only offering a shrug, nor had anyone else asked about the masked villain after regrouping once Eggman was taken care of as well.

It bothered Gadget.

Ok, understatement of the year - it _really_ bothered Gadget.

There was a dreadful sense of foreboding creeping up on him that suggested their enemy was far from dead, that Infinite could very well still be out there, restoring his power, planning a comeback... anything!

And so that was what lead him here, why he was doing what he was currently doing; informing Knuckles that he would be leaving the resistance, under the guise that others needed his help. He had to go and search for Infinite, he needed answers, needed to reach a solid conclusion on what happened to him or his mind would never be at ease. They'd been too careless.

What if Infinite did come back? What if they ended up right back in battle, what if more people got hurt, what if one of his friends was killed?

The wolf was met with some disappointment on announcing his departure, naturally - Gadget had become not only one of the strongest members of their team but advanced from simply "rookie" to a _friend_ \- however they couldn't exactly pressure him to continue working with them, especially when he'd claimed he had such a noble cause for departing…

Ugh, _crap,_ now he just felt guilty! And what if they found out he lied? Would they hate him? Was he a bad person?

Gadget did his best to chase away the paranoid thoughts and politely thanked the headstrong commander for the opportunity to fight alongside their ranks, leaving the base shortly after gathering a few small belongings from his assigned locker space, stepping out into the early evening sunlight; the murky clouds had passed, giving way to brighter skies, as if the world itself was celebrating the restoration of peace. It warmed his fur pleasantly, and he released a small, weary sigh prior to noticing Sonic gazing off into the distance just a few paces away. The hedgehog seemed less energetic than usual. Almost... almost depressed.

He approached him without a word and noticed Sonic's demeanour immediately shift upon the realisation he was no longer alone; Gadget was met with that trademark smile like always.

Like nothing was wrong.

While he decided to refrain from outright questioning him, he could sense that Sonic was most likely also one of those people - one of the ones who were now finally able to take the time to work through their traumas after being forced into survival mode for so long. He had supposedly been tortured up on the Death Egg for the almost the _entirety of the war_ and yet ever since his rescue, acted like it hadn't changed a thing. It wouldn't surprise Gadget in the slightest if Sonic had simply been downplaying his own experiences and terrors to remain a strong hero figure for not only his friends, but the world that held him up on their podium as a beacon of long-forgotten hope.

"Oh, hey buddy!"

"What's up, Sonic?"

"Ah... nothin' much," The hedgehog shrugged his shoulders loosely, and then leaned forward against the railings in front of them, "You headin' off?"

Gadget nodded, twiddling his thumbs nervously. "Yeah. I've got, uh... places to be, you know?"

"I hear ya. I hate stickin' around in one spot too long..."

There was an unmistakable hint of pain in his tone toward the end. All those months cooped up in a dingy cell, his freedom yanked away...

Should he...? No, no.

The wolf simply offered a half-smile, trying to reassure Sonic without being direct and bringing it up. If he wanted to open up to Gadget, it would be when he ready and on his own terms; he didn't want to make him feel like he _had_ to talk about these things.

Admittedly, he held a fond place in his heart for the hedgehog. He'd always admired him, as many would, so to have saved the planet by his side and gained his friendship and trust along the way was truly a great honour. However, Sonic always made sure to remind him that even though he may be somewhat of celebrity, they were still equals - he always insisted he was never above anybody else.

The two gazed out over the horizon for a moment in an almost melancholic silence, the sun shimmering on the surface of the water. It was beautiful.

Gadget hated it.

"It's kinda funny, isn't it?" Sonic hummed.

"What is?"

"How, like... so many things can change, but nature's the one thing that always stays pretty much the same. I mean, like, sometimes there's natural disasters and global warming is sorta a thing but more -" He shook his head, as if finding the right words to articulate his thoughts, "The world is pretty messed up right now, but even so, the sun will continue to rise every morning and the moon will always be there in our darkest nights. That kinda thing. It's also... comforting, actually? Gives you a sense of consistency when there's nothin' else."

Gadget blinked, wordlessly. Whatever he was expecting, it definitely wasn't _that._  
And then Sonic laughed.

"Sorry! Man - I'm sounding like an old poet or somethin'. Go ahead and set off, I'm not gonna keep ya."

He turned his head to the wolf, grinning and offering out a fist.

"One more for the road?"

"Always." Gadget chuckled.

They parted in opposite directions with one more last fist-bump after their small talk, bidding farewell for now. Gadget felt somewhat - ok, _very_ \- deceptive for not confiding his intentions in either the other resistance members or even Sonic and had to hold back from bursting out with his plans at the last second, reasoning it would be best to keep this mission personal to avoid troubling anybody else.

The wolf activated his grappling hook with newfound determination, firmly assuring himself he could do this and launching himself high above Park Avenue's rooftops, swinging off in the direction of the empire fortress where the tower was located.

The tower where Infinite was last sighted.

* * *

Arriving at the top of the imposing building felt like a rather small achievement in comparison to everything else he had accomplished these past few days, but Gadget was honestly just grateful it was over with. He wasn't afraid of heights, no, but even so this wasn't the most comfortable climb one could make – knowing if you fell you were almost certainly done for. At least he had his grappling hook… it made getting around much easier and provided a little extra safety.

Wasting no time to dilly-dally and admire the view, he began to circle cautiously around the peak, the other side obscured by the section of structure in the middle. His muscles were more tense than he could have ever thought be physically possible, and the uncomfortable niggling in his mind continued to grow tenfold with every footstep.

 _Maybe he's not here. Maybe he just… vanished. Yeah, yeah, he's probably gon-_

Someone coughed.

It was a low, wheezing cough, shaking and weak that would probably imply whoever it was could do little harm right now, however all the same Gadget almost had a heart attack. His ears shot up more like there had been a gunshot and his eyes bugged slightly in alarm, pulse racing hard and fast as the gritty reality sunk in. There was surely only one person that could have been.

Ok, never mind, he was going to die. He was definitely, _absolutely_ , one hundred percent going to die, god, why did he ever think this was a good idea -

He trod slowly so as to not alert the jackal to his presence right away, fighting every instinct that told him to run, just bolt for it, and when Infinite finally came into his field of vision his knees threatened to buckle at the sight he beheld.

He wasn't moving. Like, at all. In fact, was - was he even _breathing?_ Was what he just heard Infinite's last, dying coughs? Even like this, completely motionless, the jackal was still intimidating, but against his fears and likely also common sense Gadget continued to approach – and then, because Lady Luck just loved to laugh in his face, of course he stepped on something.

 _Oh shit. Ohshitohshitohshitohshit -_

It was much akin to the sound of glass underfoot, an abrupt crunch that made him immediately wince and go rigid with the manner in which it stood out among the silence. Glancing down briefly, beneath his olive green boots laid the discarded shards of his broken prototype, the one he used to dispel the sun.

Naturally, this didn't go unnoticed by Infinite. The eye not concealed by his mask instantly shot open wide at the sudden disturbance, darting back and forth then fixing on Gadget as though he was finding it difficult to remain focused. Well, at least that answered _that_ question… he _was_ breathing.

...Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

Both seemed equally startled at this point - Infinite with the recognition he now had undesired company and Gadget at being caught like a deer in the headlights - but almost immediately the former snapped out of his stupor.

* * *

 _What the hell is_ _ **he**_ _doing here?!_

Snarling with an unfathomable amount of frustration Infinite attempted to rise, however it felt like he was stuck in slow motion. Teeth clenched with the effort such a simple movement took, the jackal unable to bear looking so powerless in front of the enemy but also unable to bear the strain. His desire was to lunge for the pathetic _insect_ , but instead he merely doubled over forwards with another series of rough croaks and unpleasant hacking noises that shook his entire body.

Shit, his insides felt like they were on _fire._

This was infuriatingly humiliating for him, and that much was apparent from the moment he spoke, trying to deter Gadget away with an aggressive tone and hostile body language if he couldn't fight physically. The fatigue was just far too great.

 _"Go away,"_ Infinite resorted to hissing viciously, "Leave me!"

Gadget's fists balled nervously, fingers curling, uncurling, _curling,_ _ **uncurling…**_

Infinite may have found his apprehension amusing if he wasn't so _pissed off._ It was quite obvious that though the wolf had purposefully sought him out, he didn't have any actual plan in place for what he would do upon reaching his goal. Acting on a reckless whim held a price; one he was not equipped to pay. How foolish.

 _How long is he just going to stand there?!_

Growing more aggravated the longer Gadget's conflicted stare lingered, the jackal released a sharp, primal growl, echoing his statements again,

"Are you even listening to me?! I said fucking _leave!_ What part of that can't you get through your thick skull? Do you get a kick out of watching me suffer?!"

"What, like how you did with the rest of the world?" The wolf snappishly retorted, before his mind seemed to catch up with his mouth and he registered what he had just said. He then shook his head, as if realising he mustn't make this worse than it already is. "...I- I don't, though. That's not… no."

Infinite's visible eye narrowed slightly. Whether it was in pain or anger, or perhaps both, one couldn't quite tell, but he barked out a bitter laugh. "Well well, you've really grown a spine. Shame I can't tear it right out of you."

While the words sounded like they were supposed to be threatening, it was admittedly all talk at this point; trying to salvage face. He was seething, yes, but Infinite knew he would never be able to achieve something like that in this sorry state… and besides, for what purpose would it even be if he _was_ capable? Killing the wolf would get him nowhere, would fix nothing. A pointless endeavour.

* * *

On the other side of the exchange, Gadget mulled over his options while attempting to resist the very strong urge to turn tail. Ok, keep cool, keep cool, think rationally...

He found it... more logical to refrain from engaging in further argument. Riling Infinite? _Not_ a good idea. Whether he could barely move or not.

The wolf had a couple of choices; taking matters entirely into his own hands and bringing Infinite home, or... returning to the resistance with him. Of those, the one that stood out as the most promising was the latter, even if they may not take well to the fact he had fibbed about his intent behind departing earlier in a pretty colossal way. As a group, they could collectively decide what to do and pitch in different ideas, instead of him having to rely solely upon his own judgement and risk making a deadly mistake. The masked jackal was obviously in grave danger and needed medical attention anyways, something Gadget didn't think he could adequately provide alone.

He reminded himself this was a war criminal he was dealing with -

 _God, what am I_ _ **thinking**_ _-_

\- but honestly, he didn't - he didn't want Infinite dead. To face consequence for his deeds, abso-fucking-lutely, but nothing _that_ extreme. Even after everything Infinite did throughout the duration of the war, to be responsible for another lost life... no, no, screw that shit. Gadget couldn't just turn and look the other way. Enough had died already and so, if he had the opportunity to prevent one more death, even Infinite's… he'd do it.

Maybe he was too much of a pacifist, too merciful.

Maybe he was naïve.

This guy hurt hundreds and terrorised _thousands,_ so was it worth it to give him a chance to better himself? Could he truly be redeemed for his wrongdoings...? Perhaps not. Hell, this could backfire in Gadget's face _real_ bad.

Still… it'd haunt him forever if he didn't at least _try._

The wolf drew closer. His palms were sweating profusely but he now spoke with heightened confidence, squaring his shoulders in determination as his decision was made and cemented.

"Alright... Alright, listen up; I'm bringing you back to base with me. And I'd advise you don't struggle, or you might hurt yourself more than you already have."

There was no backing out now.

He reached out to try and grab Infinite as he doubted he would come willingly, ready for anything, but the jackal barely managed to swipe at Gadget's hands. It looked like the more he tried to fight, the fainter he became, and his movements grew significantly less coordinated.

"You're not - you're not taking me anywhere! I won't let you, resistance pest!"

Gadget's brows furrowed.

Not so easily dissuaded, he persisted regardless of the protests, ignoring Infinite's rather pitiful attempts to beat him back and hooking both hands beneath his arms. The wolf raised him up as he writhed and thrashed to the minuscule extent his body would allow, and as would be expected, it didn't have much effect. To try and resist in this condition was completely futile.

In fact, after only a few moments of trying to escape, Infinite passed out from over-exertion. He'd worn himself down as far as he could endure and was now entirely at Gadget's mercy, unconscious breaths coming in laboured pants that suggested if he didn't receive some form of help soon, he could be a goner. Gadget grunted slightly as he tried to balance his enemy against himself - oh god he was holding _Infinite_ \- and figure out how to get them both to the base.

...

Wait. What was _that?_

He turned his head, having been absolutely positive he'd seen something out of the corner of his eye, and his mouth dropped open a little upon seeing that the shards on the ground, instead of being dull and unresponsive like when he had accidentally trod on them, appeared to be _active._

His gaze shifted between the unconscious jackal and the fragments, and faintly, the ruby embedded in Infinite's chest was flickering too. But why? Could it be that it was reacting to them? Had the individual pieces remained connected to him, and regained power because of his will to save the villain...? Gadget decided to a take a risk.

Setting the jackal back down again for just a moment, he scooped up the pile of shards and then brought them closer to Infinite. Sure enough, they began to glow; rutilant.

"Could it be… his ruby did this to him?" He mused quietly, "Is this what happens when he runs out of power?"

A moment of uncertainty.

And then, Gadget decided to pocket every last bit of the shattered prototype in one of the pouches of his utility belt, taking care so as not to damage them even further. While he didn't want Infinite to regain his powers, he _did_ want him to be stabilised, so if these might do the trick… well, it'd be worth a shot. Besides, they could perhaps also be used for research purposes.

Ok. Time to lift him again.

It proved significantly harder to descend back down the tower with a wounded and effectively dead-weight jackal now accompanying him than it was to get up… and there was most certainly some _metaphorical_ weight on his shoulders, too.

* * *

Notes: hello everyone, and welcome to my fic! i've uh, had this idea in the works for a reeeaally long time and so. well. i'm excited to finally share it with you all! updates may be VERY slow-coming as i struggle with motivation and my perfectionism, but i'll be doing my best! i also apologise if characterisations are off, and if i'm a little rusty in general. in particular for this first chapter, i feel gadget's part was a bit too much tell and not enough show, but i hope you enjoyed it regardless; i want to make others happy with my work! thank you so much for reading this far :D

\- jackal

EDIT (17/6/19) at long last, the ff version of PI is updated ... typos fixed, characterisations bettered, generally, improvements made! i'd recommend a reread as some scenes have been altered but it's not a huge requirement! this has been a while coming and i hope you think the changes work !


	2. Confrontation

"Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength." - Dalai Lama

* * *

 **ii.**

It was hot. Like, way too hot. _Unbearably_ hot.

About half an hour had passed since the events at the imperial tower and luckily for Gadget, he had managed to smuggle the unconscious jackal back into the city without consequence, taking care not to be spotted until he had a means of safely concealing Infinite's identity. Draped over him now was a worn, abandoned blanket that the wolf had found on the barren outskirts, effectively shielding him from the curious gaze of the public. It wasn't the most _optimal_ solution, sure, but it'd have to do.

...He really hadn't thought this through, had he?

Gadget's breaths came in uneven huffs as he trudged his way through the streets with his fur feeling awfully clammy. Infinite was relatively light and scrawny, but his arms nevertheless ached from the exertion of lugging the extra weight all this way, and the weather wasn't helping matters either. He was grateful when he stepped out of the evening sun and into the cool base, free of the blistering summer heat beating down on his back and melting his brain.

Those loitering in the corridors gave him some odd glances as he headed for the main meeting area, which he supposed was to be expected, but thankfully he was subject to no questioning. Gadget simply forced himself to ignore it and focus on the task at hand, his sore feet automatically leading him along the correct route. Despite having only been with the resistance a few days, he had done well to familiarise himself with the layout of their stronghold. With every step he took, his chest constricted further and further...

And then he was there.

Oh boy. They were all going to hate him for this, or at the very least never trust him again. But, he couldn't - he couldn't go back now, Gadget just, he had to just, get it over with, rip off the bandaid.

Heavy metal doors parted to allow him entry, and it was almost just like the day he had been recruited – except this time, his anxiety came from a sense of dread rather than anticipation. From the moment he passed the threshold into the room, strangely obscured form in his grasp, the conversation between the two resistance leaders dithered away into an abrupt silence with the soft echo of his footfalls.

So, it was just Amy and Knuckles here at the moment... Preferable to facing _everyone_ , but still nerve-wracking. Gadget swallowed a dry lump in his throat, feeling significantly more queasy than he had on the way, and wondered just how the hell he was going to approach this.  
 _  
'Oh hey guys, guess what? I just saved the madman who almost got us all killed!'  
_ Yeah. _That_ would surely go down well.

"Oh, hey there rooki – I mean, ah, Gadget. Sorry. Force of habit. I thought you said you were leaving..." Knuckles was first to break the silence, turning away from the central console where several images of missing mobians were pulled up to give him a once over. His eyes lingered on the lumpy bundle Gadget was holding. "Had a change of heart? And what have you got there...?"

"Hey Knuckles," he bounced back, greeting Amy too so as not to seem rude, "Hi Amy. Yeah, I uh, about that..." Beads of sweat began to gather at Gadget's forehead, and it was as though his stomach was attempting to imitate the clunky old washer in his apartment when it was throwing his socks around – the socks, in this case, being a considerably late lunch he'd had with the others prior to setting out earlier. His tongue felt like lead in his mouth and he'd already began to shrink in on himself before the real interrogation had even started. He hated this room. With its high ceilings and expansive floor space, it always made him feel small.

Ok. Deep breath, take two.

"It's... um, wh – where are the others? I've never seen this place so empty."

 _No! Idiot! Out with it!_

Amy raised a brow. "Well... Team Dark are off helping G.U.N get back on its feet, and Team Chaotix are putting their detective skills to work investigating Eggman's whereabouts and missing persons cases. Sonic's most likely taking some time to aid civilians, and last I heard from Tails he was conducting some kind of research in the lab. Not sure about Silver. But," She then, however, placed her hands on her hips expectantly, "Don't change the subject. Something is clearly up and you're gonna tell us what it is. Referring back to Knuckles' question..."

Ohhhh boy. He was so, _so_ irreversibly screwed. They were gonna hate him, they were never going to want to talk to him again -

The aforementioned echidna tapped his foot impatiently.  
Gadget slowly shook his head and averted his eyes to his boots as he tried to even out his breathing.

"Ah, it's really – it's nothing major. Yeah, I found... someone wounded..."  
 _Dude. What the_ _ **hell**_ _why are you lying to them?! Just say it's Infinite!  
_ "...and so I was just -"

The pink hedgehog immediately interjected.

" _Nothing major?!_ Gadget, I don't know what your definition of major is but that sounds like a pretty big deal to me." Amy sighed, heading over to where he stood rooted on the spot like an old oak and attempting to usher him forward with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Look, just... don't worry about it. You look exhausted. We'll take it from here and bring them to the infirmary right away for treatme-"

" _No!"_

 **Shit.** Gadget gulped, knowing he had objected far too quickly, too panicked, from the moment the word flew from his lips. He briefly considered trying to backtrack but it'd be useless and only further incriminating.

Oh no. Oh no _oh no oh no oh no-_

Amy's grip fell from him as she folded her arms and Knuckles' brow furrowed.

"Why not?" The echidna inquired, his tone laced with suspicion.

"Because it's – because it's... my duty. I'm the one who found him and so I should also be the one to see this through. And I'm sure the both of you already have enough on your plates..."

…

His heart pounded.  
Stomach twisted.

Her disappointed expression drove a knife through his gut.

"...Gadget, why are you hiding things from us?"

His ears wilted and his tail drooped in shame. He let her down, he was letting them all down.

"It's... I, it's not like I'm doing it on purpose! I mean ok yeah I technically _am_ but I _**want**_ to tell you it's just every time I try the words won't come out right and-"

"Then don't say anything."

Knuckles, obviously having had enough of this beating around the bush, abruptly cut off his fast-paced stammering and stepped forward. His hand reached for the cloth covering Infinite. He seized. He pulled.

"W- Wait, don't do that -"

Too late.

…

The silence that followed after the reveal threatened to devour Gadget alive. Subconsciously, he clutched the weakened jackal in his arms tighter as his legs threatened to give.

Knuckles backed up several paces.  
Amy's eyes bugged.  
He winced.

"...Say something. Either of you, _anything -"_

"Gadget." The echidna inhaled deeply; a moment of calm before the storm. "What... the _hell..._ are you _ **thinking?!"**_ Annnnnd here we go. Yep. They hated him.

"This guy is – he's a monster! And you brought him to _our base?"_

Gadget's tail tucked between his legs as the commander exploded. He couldn't blame him, not really.

"I... I couldn't just leave him to _die!"_

"Knuckles, I – I don't – – please calm down..." Amy released a shaky breath, one that sounded as if she'd been holding it in this entire time. It went without saying that she was just as taken aback by this as he was.

"Calm down? _Calm down?!_ Gadget just brought back the most dangerous enemy we've ever faced, and expects us to, what, _save_ him after everything he did?"

"Look, what's done is _done!_ I'm – I'm not exactly happy about this either, ok?! But he did what he thought was right and blowing up in his face isn't going to solve _anything!_ Could _you_ have left a man to die?" She shook her head. "There's... there's no going back now. So we need to pass judgement with clear heads!"

Knuckles stared at her incredulously. "What's there to judge? He's a _war criminal!_ We need to throw him in prison, not nurse him back to health so he can do it all over again! _"_

Gadget tried to suppress his shakes, he really did, but watching this argument unfold wasn't exactly the best thing to keep him level-minded.

"We... We can't," The wolf objected, his voice wavering slightly, "If we toss him in a cell like this he'll – he'll _die!"_

"Yeah... yeah, that's right." Amy mumbled in agreement. "And I know even you're not that cold, Knux. Infinite is – he – he's done awful things. I know that. Like, do you think this is easy for me right now? Because if you do, you're wrong. I've seen all the people that suffered because of him, I've watched him bring our world to ruin. Do you think I'm not afraid, or bitter?! _Of course I am!_ I don't know if I can _ever_ forgive him for everything he put us all through! But... but..." Her tone grew uneven much like Gadget's. "Even after all that, does he really deserve _death?"_ "Amy-" Knuckles spoke.

"I'm not finished!" Amy suddenly huffed and stomped her foot, giving him the stink eye. "Think about this for a moment, please. I'm _not_ saying his deeds should go entirely unpunished, but he should at the very least be allowed medical treatment. And... about what he did. Trying to destroy the world, hurting innocent people?"

"Oh no, absolutely not, I know where this is going and that was _different -"_

Again, she cut him off. "Is it? Is it really, in the end? Look. Whether you want to admit it or not, this wouldn't be the first time we've handled someone like this - Shadow was once in a similar position, and now? He's one of our greatest allies because he got a second chance, despite all that destruction he caused. And I know they're not the _exact same person_ but - why can't we provide that for Infinite too? Do you think Shadow deserves to suffer for what he did back then?"

"Arrgh, no! I never said that at all!" Knuckles groaned, clenching his fists. Evidently, he was struggling to remain cool in such a tense situation. He looked like he wanted to smash something. "Shadow was an amnesiac who got taken advantage of and lost his way. Infinite was literally _made_ to destroy."

Gadget's ears flattened nervously, watching the two go back and forth.  
Amy, however, now getting over the initial shock, seemed more determined than on edge.

"Exactly."

 _...Wait, what?_

"Huh?" Knuckles' grunt of puzzlement seemed to echo his own thoughts.

"I said, exactly." She repeated, shrugging distantly. "What you just said there... that Infinite was made to destroy. That's just it, isn't it...? I've actually thought about it quite a few times. Eggman created him to do harm, and you know what that means? He was being conditioned for evil right from his very first breath. He's never even had the opportunity to know anything else but pain. Don't you... think it's kind of sad? So – So then, what if he did? What if he had that chance? Don't you think there's even the _slightest_ possibility that something in him would change if he saw there can be good in the world?"

Knuckles blinked. Gadget's jaw hung slightly agape.

"I..."

Amy stared Knuckles down patiently.

"I guess I can concede that's a good point. But I just – he ruined _so many lives,_ Amy. And if we take a risk like this, and something goes wrong, he could ruin so many more! Keeping everyone else safe should be the priority here."

"...I know." She clasped her hands together, sighing. "But it doesn't have to be as black and white as just my way or your way. We can find a compromise that's both humane _and_ safe. Maybe... Maybe I'm naïve. Maybe I'm still just a stupid kid that doesn't know how the world works. But I can't let him die. And I know deep down, behind that anger, you can't either."

...

"Maybe..." Gadget piped up quietly, barely daring to interject into the discussion, "Maybe, Knuckles, if you let us treat him... it's not like we have to do it without any caution. He's seriously weak, he can't do much...! If – If we just keep him away from the other patients, give him his own room while he recovers and keep it locked..."

"We can also have shifts, watching over him." Amy added as he began to trail off. "If Infinite shows any promise, then we can have another meeting and decide what to do from there. And if it _doesn't_ work out, then once he's stable enough, you can get Tails to build him a specialised cell and we'll keep him imprisoned."

Knuckles bit his lip.  
Gadget held his breath.

The echidna gave in.

"...Ok. Ok, I'll let you save his life or whatever. Just – Just be careful. I don't want anyone else besides our group knowing about this; it's to stay a classified case, none of the lower ranking resistance members need to know or it'll stir hysteria."

 _Thank god._

Amy's muscles relaxed in visible relief, and Gadget offered a small, weary smile. They'd won him over.

"I, um - Thank you, Knuckles. Really. If I couldn't save him... it'd be on my conscience forever."

"You'd better get to it, then," Amy gave him a nod of approval, leaning down to pick up the discarded blanket and draping it back over the jackal for him. "Us two'll handle contacting the others and letting them know what's going on."

The wolf dipped his head in gratitude. "I will. So, first shift is mine, and one of you switches with me later?"

"Yeah, I'll take over from nine o'clock. It's six right now, so that gives you several hours with him."

"Got it."

And so, with both of the leader's approval, Gadget at last headed off to the infirmary. It was in a more secluded, quiet part of the building for the benefit of the patients, so he received less stares this time as he plodded through the halls. When he gradually drew closer, the pungent odour of disinfectant and medications greeted him.

Lost in thought, upon turning a corner he bumped into someone so hard he almost toppled over onto his behind.

"Ah, crap! I'm so sorry!" A familiar voice yelped in alarm, apologising profusely.

Several pieces of paper floated down to the ground at his feet, which were then picked up again by a young hedgehog with silver fur.

"No, no, it's fine! I er, should have been paying more attention to where I was going." Gadget replied, breathing a little heavier from the small startle he'd gotten. "My bad."

The two quickly righted themselves and Silver chuckled sheepishly. "Even so. Maybe we're _both_ to blame." He then blinked, his eyes settling on the lump in Gadget's arms. "Oh...! Let me guess, there's someone underneath there, right? I really hope I didn't hurt them with the collision... I was just tending to some of the patients, um, there's actually only one bed left. Here - it's in a room down this corridor, follow me and we can get them set up."

...Huh. Well, what do you know? Seemed this had worked out pretty perfectly.  
Er, though he still had to break it to Silver that this was their greatest adversary.

 _Aside_ from that, so far so good.

"Thanks, really. But uh, Silver, I should really tell you so you don't get shocked..."

"Hm?" The hedgehog peered over his shoulder as he lead the way, "Tell me what? Not much really shocks me... are the wounds bad, or something?"

A lone drop of sweat rolled down Gadget's forehead.

"Haha, uh... not exactly."

Silver hummed curiously to himself when they reached the door, withdrawing a small set of keys to unlock it from... _somewhere_ with a small jingle. No wait, seriously, _where_ did he get those? He didn't have pockets!

"Well, here it is. Now... what was it you wanted to say?"

* * *

When Infinite came to, he found himself surrounded by white. White walls, white ceiling, white... ugh, you get the point. A florescent light flickered above his bed – he was in a bed? - and only worsened the chronic pounding in his head, like a mallet was being thumped down over and over against his bare skull.

...Ok. Maybe that was a _bit_ of an exaggeration, but it still hurt like a bitch.

Wherever he was, it was a sharp and pristine environment, jarring to his slowly awakening senses. He twitched his ears and blinked bleary eyes in an attempt to adjust.  
Somewhere the jackal couldn't quite pinpoint, a clock ticked. And he smelt...

Chemicals.

Oh god, oh no- no _no no_ -  
Fuck, **don't panic.**

The very moment his nostrils had caught the acrid stench he sat up so quickly it was a miracle it didn't give him whiplash. What happened? Where the hell was he? This... right, this didn't _look_ like Eggman's dingy old laboratory. He was fine. It was fine.

...

Alright, yeah, it wasn't fine but at least he wasn't _there._

It took him a minute to recall what had happened prior to rising from slumber here before he realised this was surely that pesky red wolf's doing... and the connection from there was glaringly obvious – he had to be at the resistance headquarters.

Infinite's lip curled and he grit his teeth. His mind was shrouded in fog, making it difficult to hold a clear and consistent thought process, but he knew one thing for sure and it was that he was _angry._ He sunk his proverbial claws into the hot bubbling sensation and latched onto it; if nothing else, he at least had his raw fury left to keep him grounded.

That damn brat... sticking his nose where it didn't belong, meddling in other people's business. Why did he save him? _Why?!_ So he and his friends could torture him? Have the last laugh?

...They'll be disappointed. He's already had worse than whatever they could do to him now.

The jackal's gaze travelled the room, surveying his surroundings.  
And then he realised.

The lack of red tint in his vision.  
The missing weight on his head.  
The absence of cool metal against his face.

His mask was off.

His mask...

...was off.

 _Where is it where is it_ _ **where is it -**_

As though a switch had been flipped a surge of intense panic and alarm flooded his entire body, primal and demanding action. Eyes darted around, but this time in a mannerism more akin to an agitated, frightened wild animal. Nothing. The bed, a table, a chair. No mask. The fucking nerve, they must have taken it while he was vulnerable – he was going to – – _he'd kill - !_ Infinite's shoulders sagged. Ragged pants.  
Lethargic.

Damn it.

He never removed that thing. _Never!_ Not since the night that his eye... since the others -

Since the renewal of his identity.

His hands trembled, claws digging into the soft, tender flesh of his palms. The trickle of freely flowing blood made him aware that his gloves had been removed too. Glowing crimson stained, harsh in contrast against the pure, perfect ivory of the sheets.

He felt exposed.

Infinite hated his face. He hated that hideous _scar._ It was a reminder; a reminder of his weakest moment. And now, it was on display for anybody to see. Bile rose in his throat. The jackal swallowed it, resisting the instinct to gag.

…

 _Tick, tock._

Chest seized.

 _Tick, tock._

Fists tightened.

 _Tick-_

The door opened.

Infinite's head shot up, fast, too fast. Dizziness briefly encompassed as a snarl tore from his throat and his hackles raised, while large ears laid flat. Fangs bared to whoever dared step foot in the room with him.

" _Get – Get the fuck away from me!"_

A pause.

"...Geez. That's no way to greet the person that saved your life."

Recognition flashed across his features in an instant. Bearings gained, their eyes locked; mismatched yellow and blue meeting amber. The red wolf.  
...Bastard. What was he expecting? A _thank you?!_

"Nobody told you to do that, you writhing little _insect!"_ He hissed, his voice cracking slightly with the forcefulness in which he spewed his venomous words.

Gadget merely snorted. This wasn't the same coward that had once shaken at the very sight of him, clearly. Or it was a brave front. Probably the latter actually.

"Alright, fair enough. How are you feeling...?"

Infinite's nose scrunched as though he'd been spat in the face, disgusted. "Like punching your lights out."

"Well, I suppose the fact you still have the energy to be such a jerk is a sign you're not dying anytime soon." The wolf heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. Still, there was an odd hint of... _something_ in his tone. Relief?

The jackal found himself becoming even more infuriated. What was with this guy?!

"Listen, runt, let's cut to the point. If you're here to kill me just get it the fuck over with!" He snapped, glaring smouldering daggers.

Gadget blinked, clearly a bit taken aback. Infinite felt a sliver of satisfaction, but it was short-lived; rather than being intimidated by Infinite, it became apparent that it was his accusation itself that had him surprised. The despicable fool just tilted his head at the outburst, as though _confused._

"...Kill you? Why on earth would I bother to save you if I was only going to kill you now?!"

"Fine. Torture, then."

The wolf groaned in exasperation. "Not that either! Ok, just... calm down. Nobody is going to hurt you."

Infinite's mind reeled. What kind of game was he playing?! Rather than getting him to ease up, Gadget only appeared to be invoking his temper further. If not to torture and punish him, seriously, why the hell would he go to the trouble of bringing a foe back here? Perhaps... for intel? As if he had any information to disclose anymore. Or a hostage to lure out Eggman?

...Ha! That'd be rich.

He knew Eggman never truly cared about him. No, what that madman cared about was his _power._ And now, with that power reduced to seemingly nothing... his usefulness had reached its expiration date. The thought of staging a rescue, his creator wouldn't even entertain it – of this, Infinite was sure.

He held no more worth than flicky shit.

"Wolf..." Infinite pulled a breath, then spoke slowly, his tone rumbling low like oncoming thunder. "I'd advise you to shut your goddamn mouth before this gets ugly. Hear me loud and clear; I'm not falling for any of your senseless _bullshit!"_

If even the one who gifted him life harboured no compassion for him... why would anyone else? Why - Why would someone he hurt not do the same to him in return?!

Exactly, it made no sense. It'd be stupid. They **couldn't.  
** This wannabe hero was surely only toying with him.

Again, his unwanted company exhaled deeply. Gadget pursed his lips, and rubbed his temple with two fingers. Seemed he was reaching the end of his tether. One could only be so patient when dealing with someone with an attitude like Infinite's.

"Fine, fine... whatever. Believe what you want, but I'm telling the truth. Now, are you hungry? Thirsty? In pain...?"

The jackal growled, slightly croaky by this point from all his aggressive barking. "The hell do you care?"

He didn't want to accept any assistance, not by a long shot, but something to eat maybe... no, no – he still had _some_ dignity. And it was surely a trick! However, the wolf seemed to notice the way he curled in on himself, the occasional traitorous rumble of his stomach, and nodded to nobody in particular.

"Alright, give me a sec. I'll get you something."

"Hey, I never said -"

Before Infinite could object, Gadget was out the door again. It clicked behind him and his footsteps faded on the other side.

Great. Fantastic. Just _peachy._

Since he felt far too fatigued to get out of bed, all he could really do was sit and wait, brooding over his current predicament. Besides, even if he _did_ have the energy, Infinite was in a fortified, secure enemy base; he wouldn't get very far.

Stupid red wolf...  
Stupid Eggman...  
Stupid -

Stupid self.

How on earth was he going to get out of this one?  
...He had a sinking feeling he probably wouldn't. His strength and powers were absent. His will, once of steel, just felt like it had evaporated, dispersing into the air like mist. And there was nowhere to return to. No orders to carry out.

Infinite's fate was in the hands of the resistance.

Gadget returned at last about ten minutes later, carrying a small black tray in hand with a ceramic bowl, a spoon, and plastic cup of water resting atop it. He nudged the door shut behind him with one foot as Infinite's nostrils flared at the enticing aroma of a meal.

"Hey. I uh – I brought you some soup and bread. We don't have much, but it's better than nothing." Gadget informed him awkwardly, carefully placing the food down on the side table. "I also noticed your hands, so... there's some bandaids here too, if you want them. For the cuts."

Indeed, looking closer there were bandaids.  
...They had little cartoon dogs on them.

He decided to forego the bandaids.

The jackal directed his attention to the soup instead, eyeing it suspiciously. It _looked_ good, and it _smelt_ even better, but...

"How do I know you haven't poisoned it?" He questioned, gaze narrowed.

Gadget groaned.

"Oh, come on! For goodness sake, I know we're not exactly on great terms but I'm not _that_ cruel."

"I don't trust you."

"I know. And I'm not surprised, given that we've been at war with each other. But you know what, if you're gonna be stubborn, I'll _prove_ it's safe. Here. Watch."

The wolf reached for the spoon and dipped it into the soup before bringing it to his lips, gently blowing on it, and taking a mouthful. He swallowed as Infinite observed like a hawk.

A few heartbeats passed.

...Alright. His seemingly self-appointed "caretaker" wasn't having a fit or dead on the floor, so it was probably untampered with.

While remaining a bit reluctant to take handouts from the one who partook in causing his downfall, unless he wanted to starve he knew he really had no other option but to cast aside his pride and admit defeat. He didn't even recall the last time he ate.

"...Fine." Infinite grumbled, snatching the utensil when it was offered to him and sampling his first taste without much thought. It was lukewarm and nothing special, but to a malnourished, famished jackal pretty much _anything_ could be appetising.

…

And then suddenly, he blanched.

Slowly removing the spoon from his mouth, his features twisted into a grimace. Gadget's expression on the other hand immediately shifted to one of concern, and he looked like he was about to ask whether Infinite was ok before the bedridden villain shuddered.

"Oh my god, _disgusting._ "

"...It – It's just tomato soup -" Gadget protested, bewildered.

"Not the soup, imbecile! The spoon! This – This spoon was just in your mouth! And I put it in _my_ mouth!"

Silence. Much like with his earlier outburst the wolf blinked, once, twice, three times. And then he had the gall to fucking _laugh._ Well, ok, it wasn't so much laughing as it was a snort of disbelief, but all the same it pissed him off.

"You've got to be kidding. Are you always this dramatic?"

Why that little...! The repulsed jackal thrust out the spoon toward the wretched worm, his soft-furred cheeks growing slightly red with a mix of humiliation and distaste. "Are you always this annoying?" He retorted sulkily.

Gadget raised a brow, crossing his arms. "Oh no, no way. I am not getting you another spoon."

Infinite's stare didn't falter. He glowered silently.  
Gadget shook his head.

"Nope."

Infinite squinted harder.  
No dice.

"You either eat with that one or you don't eat at all. Take your pick."

 _…Asshole. Two can play this game._

Maintaining eye contact with the wolf, he placed down the spoon and instead took the bowl between his hands, placed his lips to its rim, and tilted it up like he was drinking from a glass.

"...Real mature."

Dominance successfully asserted.

To his dismay, Gadget began to settle down in the chair beside his bed. Then, nonchalantly, he simply stated,

"By the way, you have tomato juice all over your face."

Dominance successfully crushed.

Gulping down the soup like it was the first thing he'd consumed in a week – to his memory, it _was_ – once it was all gone, he set down the empty bowl on the tray again with a soft _clank_ and flipped his middle finger. The jackal then drew the back of his forearm across his cheeks in an attempt to clean them, however it only smeared the mess even further.

Gadget's elbows propped up on his knees as he rested his head in his hands.

"You... are a disaster."

Infinite shrugged, still significantly cranky. Though, he did feel better than before he'd eaten.

"Don't like it, then screw off."

"...Nah."

His eye twitched slightly. "And just why not?"

The wolf did, after all, look like he'd rather be anywhere else right now. So why had he just sat down?

"No choice. I've got first shift, see. We're going to take turns watching over you."

Ah.

"Tch. You think I'm gonna get far in a condition like this?"

Gadget was quiet for a moment, almost pensive. "...No. But it's a necessary precaution. As you seem to know your limits, I honestly hope you don't try anything – for your own sake. The others... may not be very forgiving."

Infinite flicked an ear.

"Implying you would be?"

…  
...No response.

And so they sat, together, in a silence so thick and uncomfortable you could almost hear crickets chirping. It felt surreal. Being in the same room as an enemy, one in a hospital bed, and the other watching over them. Not fighting. Just... existing in the same space.

He didn't like it.  
He could tell the wolf didn't like it either.

Gadget twiddled his thumbs in his lap, while Infinite picked at his claws. He side-eyed the red mobian now and then. And a particular time, he was met with the other staring right back at him, who grew slightly rigid upon being caught.

"...It's rude to stare."

"Well I – I could say the same to you."

The jackal snorted. "If you've got something to say, say it. Is it the blue eye? The scar? Maybe you just think I'm overall horrendous?"

Gadget, to Infinite's mild surprise, shook his head. "No, it's... I don't think that. Your eye it – it did catch my attention, but not in a negative way. I've just... never seen something like that. Like, I knew the condition exists but just – not in person."

"...You know, I used to think you were mute. At the moment I almost wish you were."

"You're a real charmer." Gadget remarked, voice dripping with the essence of sarcasm.

…

"How long am I stuck with you?"

"Hmmm," The wolf hummed, brows furrowed, "'Til about nine o'clock. Amy's doing your overnight observation."

Amy... the pink one. Just as insufferable as the rest, probably. Before he could answer, Gadget continued,

"You're lucky. Of all the resistance members, she's least likely to try and maim you in your sleep."

"Comforting. And what time is it now?"

Gadget peered at the clock hanging on the wall, still ticking incessantly. "Six forty-five."

Infinite sighed.

"Any other questions?"

 _Yeah.  
What are you going to do with me?  
What are your motivations?  
What's in this for you?_

 _...How did you master the act of sounding so genuine, even though all this can be nothing but a facade?_

He sunk his fangs into his bottom lip.

"None."

* * *

Notes: hey there! thank you all for waiting so long for this chapter, i'm so very sorry it took me such a while! i was quite busy and things have been happening and just. AAA. but the story finally continues and i hope it was worth the wait! i apologise if my characterisations arent quite up to speed. i find infinite easiest, gadget is pretty simple-ish since he's very down to personal interpretation of writers, but amy and knuckles... oh boy. i've never written them before and you can surely tell sdfgfds;;;

something to note about this chapter, in case of confusion; the resistance already know infinite is artificial. this is because of some dialogue in-game that actually inspired this au! it implies that not only was infinite a creation, but if he had actually had been canonically, theyd know. during a stage, tails comments that "this is where eggman built infinite", and amy goes on to express how sad it is - "what a lonely place to be brought into the world" and whatnot. i had a friend ask me about this so i thought id throw this out there for clarification!

also, i didn't mention before but for those who haven't heard me talk about my au before on say, tumblr or such, infinite is both physically and mentally 20 years of age, while gadget is 21! i know gadget is referred to as "kid" in game by knuckles and stuff, but i say screw that he's custom and im doing as I please - as well as i don't think knuckles means he's LITERALLY a kid. infinite also called him a child but i see that as nothing at all beyond an insult. everyone else is probably the same as they always are cause the sonic timeline is just... difficult ? they dont grow up? aside from sonics b-day in generations ig but ANYWAY -

thats enough of my blathering and ill see you next chapter!...  
...which hopefully wont take another month couUGHS

EDIT (12/06/19): chapter has received edits!


	3. Back at Square One

[ CW: this chapter has medical stuff and a bit of a heavy scene! while not super graphic, i thought i should provide a heads up! ]

* * *

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress." - Frederick Douglass

* * *

 **iii.**

Two days. It had been two days since Infinite was initially taken into the resistance's custody, and naturally, he was still acting like a complete and utter _asshole._ Whether it was snapping and hissing at his caretakers with every opportunity that arose, alternatively refusing to acknowledge them whatsoever, or just being generally unpleasant to be around, the jackal was proving a very exhausting patient with his feisty temperament and poor anger management.

Ok, ok, so Gadget was aware miracles didn't happen in such a short span of time, but he couldn't help but feel discouraged already... Hell, there was no guarantee there would ever be a breakthrough. He thought saving Infinite was the the right thing to do, however just saving someone's life didn't automatically mean they'd better themselves. Especially when that someone was being so ungrateful...

Had Gadget overestimated his own capabilities? Oh god, he had totally overestimated his capabilities.

Adding to his ever-present feelings of crappiness – ha, yeah, as if he needed to feel even worse about the situation – he'd just gotten out of an especially draining meeting. It was only common sense to have held one after informing the others what was happening, to allow everyone to put their opinions on the matter forward and each have equal chance to be heard. Not all had been available to attend in person, but Amy and Knuckles were obviously present as co-leaders, along with Silver, Sonic and Tails, and each member of Team Dark; while Team Chaotix listened in via radio.

Short summary?

Debates were more heated than a summer in Sandopolis Zone, full-blown arguments almost broke out at least three times, and overall, everyone had their hackles up. It had been very difficult for Amy to keep everyone under control as, despite her age, pretty much being the main voice of reason, but she'd ultimately convinced them all to stick to the plan that she, Knuckles, and himself had discussed previously.

Well...  
With one addition.

Long summary?

It was tense, incredibly tense, to say the least. Gadget could tell that their trust in him had waned, and he supposed he really couldn't fault them for it. Still, just because the wolf was able to understand why, didn't mean it hadn't hurt a little... He hoped the new strain on his relationship with the close-knit group wouldn't cause even more drama; there was enough to deal with already, his stress levels at an all-time high.

Throughout the discussion, various ideas had been put forward. Vector had proposed they ought to be placing the jackal with G.U.N for his crimes, but Shadow and Rouge had shot this down – G.U.N was in no state to be supervising a criminal like Infinite; the once high-security organisation was still in a state of recovery from the disorder the war had brought upon them, and busy enough being on the lookout for other outlaws that had taken the chance to escape when everything went to hell.

Omega on the other hand stated they should just outright eliminate Infinite right away, to one-hundred-percent ensure the removal of threat. Before anyone could even consider backing such a thing, Amy had taken the wheel, much to Gadget's relief, adamant that option wasn't on the table.

She and Knuckles went on to explain what Gadget had previously suggested, and the plan they currently had; informing they had granted permission for Infinite to be kept alive and given a chance, but should something go wrong he would be imprisoned in the basement of the headquarters. Thereby, keeping everyone safe while still being as humane as possible.

There was some discourse on whether Infinite really deserved to be treated with humanity when he hadn't seemed to possess any of his own... but the pink hedgehog again shot down any oppositions with a stubborn tone and stomp of her foot. Sonic, who had been considerably more quiet than the others throughout the whole thing, had backed her; despite all he'd been through, he was still a compassionate soul, and it seemed to inspire anyone who still remained miffed about it to resign themselves – if even he could show some mercy, the one who was hurt the most, then so could they... supposedly.

Honestly, Gadget had to give them both a lot of credit for managing to keep things orderly. They were both pretty young, but they had a lot of emotional maturity, and it showed. Conflict amongst themselves wouldn't have done at all.

But... That wasn't the end.

While there was a rough idea in place of how to move forward, the very obvious issue was brought up of the jackal's powers potentially returning as he grew healthy and stable again. So the conclusion?

They were planning on extracting Infinite's ruby.

No ruby, significantly less danger, right? Gadget just... didn't like the approach. To avoid Infinite lashing out, Knuckles had insisted nobody was to breathe a word to him of what was going to happen, so they could carry it through with as little resistance as possible.

...It felt wrong.

What was worse is it was going to be half his duty to provide the anaesthesia. Not only since he was the one to start this whole mess, but because Infinite, while he didn't particularly like _any_ of them, seemed to tolerate Gadget's presence just a little better than the others.

He'd brought up his doubts as to whether this was really the right thing to do, but in the end, guiltily succumbed to the pressure of his peers. Maybe... maybe it wouldn't be so bad. When he'd found Infinite, it looked like the gemstone in his chest was draining the life right out of him; so what if that was the cause of his ill health? Wouldn't they even be doing him a favour in the long run?

He sighed.

 _Stop trying to make yourself feel better about this, jackass._

Not keen on wasting time, Amy and Knuckles had decided the operation should be underway as soon as possible. None of them had the _best_ medical knowledge, especially given that their group was comprised of many younger members, but after months of tending to war casualties they'd learnt just about enough in order to carry it through without requesting assistance. There were trained nurses working in the infirmary, however, they had no idea about Infinite... and confiding in them would be a very big risk. One poor reaction could lead to the news spreading across the rest of the resistance like wildfire, resulting in mass panic.

So now, in present time at last, while those two readied the small laboratory in a more isolated part of the building where it would take place, Gadget now had only about ten minutes with the bedridden villain until it was time to bite the bullet and hook him up to IV. Hopefully, with as little trouble as possible...

An air of foreboding swept over the wolf, and he swallowed, trying to push away his apprehensions.

It would be fine. It was all going to be fine... Ok, knowing Infinite's temper it was all going to go straight to shit, but if he told himself _that_ he'd just start panicking.

Plodding along with his shoulders drooping, as if the weight of the very world rested upon them, Gadget headed down the desolate corridor to Infinite's private room. After unlocking the door and stepping inside, he found the jackal already awake, sitting upright with his ears twitching. Must have easily heard him coming; those things were massive.

"Oh, it's you."

Infinite regarded him with an air of disinterest and mild contempt.  
Gadget withheld the urge to roll his eyes.

"Morning to you too, Infinite."

Ignoring the guilt welling in the pit of his stomach best he could, he shuffled over to the chair by the side of the bed and sat down, back slouching.

His mind swam.  
Thoughts messy.

Could he really do this? Could he really force Infinite into having an operation he never consented to?

...He had no choice, he supposed. Unless he wanted the others breathing down his neck more than they already were. Though, Gadget realised with another unpleasant twinge of nausea that if Infinite had started to trust him even the slightest amount, he may be damaging their already fragile connection greatly.

…

He felt like shit.

"Hey, wolf," Infinite's voice snapped him from his internal monologuing, "you're awfully quiet today."

Gadget blinked. The remark seemed mostly quizzical, however there was underlying suspicion weaved into his tone. Crap, the guy was sharp.

He then continued when Gadget hesitated to reply, waving a hand dismissively, "It's not that I'm complaining, of course. Actually I often wish you'd shut up. But something is clearly off, I mean, you even forgot my damn breakfast."

Ah, fuck. It'd totally slipped his mind – naturally Infinite would have been expecting his morning meal, just like the prior couple of days. But, due to medical protocol, he couldn't eat or drink anything before anaesthesia... quick, excuses, excuses!

"...Oh. Just haven't been getting much sleep."

Ok, that wasn't technically a lie. It'd been difficult to catch a break between caring for the jackal, dealing with the misgivings and occasional backlash of some of the other resistance members, and with his anxieties and night terrors tormenting him whenever he did get the chance to rest. They kept him up into the most unholy hours of the morning, and at this rate Gadget feared becoming an insomniac. Come to think of it, it looked like Infinite hadn't been sleeping easy either; dull circles resided beneath his eyes, further accentuating his cranky and hardened appearance.

His excuse was met with a soft snort. "That makes two of us then. Would it kill you people to invest in more comfortable beds?"

"We're lucky to have beds at all. What, were your accommodations with Eggman more luxurious?" Gadget responded dryly. Though he couldn't help but sense there was more to Infinite's sleep deprivation than an uncomfortable bed.

To his surprise, the jackal almost seemed to flinch at the question. The atmosphere shifted within the span of a single heartbeat; a thick, abrupt silence descended upon the pair, and he immediately regretted his words as Infinite's stare darkened. For a moment, he averted his gaze to the opposite side of the room, away from Gadget. Mouth opened, then closed again, as if having been about to say something then thought better of it. His jaw clenched, and the wolf could almost hear the grinding of his teeth.

... Shit. Shit shit shit.

Had his comment really been _that_ bad?

Finally, Infinite drew a deep, long breath. He faced his caretaker again, and a shiver shot down Gadget's spine. He - He wasn't scared of Infinite, not anymore, but in that moment it was like those eyes were boring right down into his soul, boring a searing hole through flesh and bone by sheer intensity alone. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't move.

Paralysed.

Forced to meet the smouldering glare, Gadget gulped. There was something, something unnerving in those mismatched depths, as though they had seen more than he would ever be able to imagine.

And, voice barely a whisper, like a bitter, ice cold wind, Infinite simply answered,

"No."

* * *

Honestly, Infinite wanted to punch him. Like, he really, _really_ wanted to punch him. Alas, he also knew that could only end badly, thus resorted to merely narrowing his eyes in warning to not take this particular discussion any further.

Thankfully, the wolf seemed to get the message.

"...Ok. Ok, I, I get it. Bad topic."

The jackal didn't respond, crossing his arms and bringing his knees to his chest, resting his chin atop them. He felt...

Small.  
Small and vulnerable.

Ok, he actually _was_ pretty small and vulnerable, at a truly whopping height of two feet and eleven inches and confined to a hospital bed, but he wasn't exactly going to admit it.

Gadget's words had triggered some memories he'd rather have left in the past, and to be reminded of them was like being slapped right across the face. It had initially started as just one, but it was often the case that even a single painful flashback would yank even more to the surface – a chain reaction. A sudden pang shot through his chest, a mix of anger, frustration, and... grief.

Everything he had endured, everything he went through...  
All just amounted to this.

Infinite gripped each of his arms tight, claws sinking into tender flesh.

Why?  
Why did he fail?  
Was it all for nothing?

 **Was his suffering for nothing?**

A light tap at the door drew him from his thoughts, and he looked up to see the pink hedgehog standing awkwardly in the entryway. She and Gadget had taken the most shifts observing him between them, so he was somewhat used to her presence, though he definitely didn't _like_ her. Any other time, he'd have figured they were going to switch over, but the wolf had only just arrived himself – so what was going on?

Out of the corner of his eye, he actually noticed said wolf becoming rigid. Both of their expressions screamed that something was wrong to Infinite, and he felt his own muscles grow stiff as a result.

Then, as she stepped forward and entered, he saw she was wheeling something along behind her. It was some kind of... er -

He wasn't quite sure.

A metal thing. It had several clear bags of fluid hanging from it, and a long tube attached to one of them. Something was on the other end sitting in her palm, too, however he wasn't quite certain as to what it was yet.

"Hey. It's... it's time."

Amy spoke quietly, locking her gaze with Gadget.

 _...Time for what?_

Gadget nodded reluctantly.

Infinite's suspicions regarding his behaviour from earlier resurfaced tenfold; something was _definitely_ going on here and he had a feeling it wasn't good. For himself, at least.

"Alright, spit it out. What the hell are you pests plotting?"

"It..." Gadget began, then stopped again as if he wasn't sure what to say. "Please don't freak out. We just need to, well..."

"Why would I "freak out"?" Infinite squinted.

The two mobians exchanged another look between them, but neither answered.

And that's when it hit him.

Glint of metal.  
Thin, sharp point.

The thing on the end of the tube that Amy was holding... he recognised it now, and had hoped he'd never see one again for as long as he lived.

Needle.

Infinite froze, and time seemed to slow down as his fight or flight response instantaneously kicked in.

Danger!  
Move! _Move!  
_ ** _Move!_**

Forcing his body to obey the will of his mind, for the first time in days he tried to climb out of bed, clumsily lunging forward.

"Oh, _crap_ – Gadget, grab him! Hold him down!"

Amy's frantic call cut through the air like a knife as he attempted to make a break for it and Gadget sprung into action with her command. He grasped hold of the jackal's flailing arms as he kicked and thrashed, pinning him back down against the tangled bedcovers. Adrenaline flooded Infinite's every sense.

"Rgghh, _you!_ Let me go, I'll fucking kill you! I'll tear you apart!"

"I-" The wolf's words seemed to catch in his throat as he struggled to keep his grip. Infinite was far from peak condition, but he wasn't going down easy. "Please calm d-"

"Shut up! _Shut up!_ It's just as I thought, I knew it, I knew you were lying! I knew you would do this soon enough," He seethed, writhing desperately, "you're _despicable._ I saw right through that "nobody will harm you" bullshit right from the start. You have the gall to lie to me, then wonder why I won't trust you?"

His eyes flashed with panic as, out of the corner of his gaze, he watched Amy fiddle with the cannula with jittering hands. He squirmed vigorously against Gadget's hold, snapping his jaws as he snarled and spat, but it was hopeless.

Let me go.  
 _Let me go.  
Let me go!  
_ ** _Let me go!  
Let me go!_**

Amy drew closer, and it took every bit of his remaining willpower to hold back from outright begging Gadget to release him.

No, no, not again, please, _not again_ , don't, don't, _don't,_ **_don't fucking touch me!_**

Don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me -

His breaths accelerated into hyper-ventilation and Infinite paled as he watched the needle draw closer, growing more terrified than he was furious.

As if he hadn't been subjected to enough bad memories today, again, more came, an all-consuming whirlwind that left only destruction in its wake.

Vials, bottles, syringes.  
Cold table, thick leather straps.  
He was restrained.

Unable to run.

Pleading, the jackal whined liked a kicked puppy, but there was nobody to save him.

A man loomed above, light reflecting in a brilliant white sheen across his glasses and obscuring his eyes. His large physique cast a shadow over the trembling body of the helpless creature, and his voice held no malice, but little compassion as he spoke,

"Do forgive me, Subject Twenty-Five, but this is all out of necessity."

Sickness.  
Recovery.  
Upping the dosage.  
Sickness.  
Recovery.  
Testing his limitations.  
Sickness.  
Recovery.  
Sickness.  
Recovery.  
Sickness.  
Recovery.

…

 ** _Pain._**

Infinite jolted back to reality with a shriek as the needle plunged into his arm, administering unknown fluid into his system. He fought, and he fought, wriggling and clawing as his fur dampened with sweat. Amy held it in as carefully as she could so he wouldn't injure himself on it with his jerky movements, and as he stared up into Gadget's eyes, his own brimming with fear and torment, he almost thought he saw pity.

"What is this? What are you – What are you going to do with me?" He rasped, worn out from his resistance and mind slowly becoming enveloped in fog. Whatever poison they'd used was incredibly fast-acting.

Gadget exchanged a glance with Amy, as if silently pleading her to let him talk. She nodded, before looking away from the both of them like the scene was too difficult for her to watch.

"…We're going to remove your ruby, Infinite." He spoke quietly.

…

…

What?

He felt the blood drain from his face.  
Numb.

Oh god.  
Oh god.  
Oh god oh god oh god oh god-

They're going to –

 _But then he'll –_

Infinite began to shake. He tried again to escape; no success. He was weakening rapidly, in fact, fatigue steadily lapping over him like a wave.

"You – You can't," He wheezed out, chest tightening, "You can't!"

"It won't hurt… you'll be out the whole time, you won't feel a thing…" Gadget winced.

Another wave of fury shot through him – and perhaps, betrayal.

"So that makes it ok?!"

"Well –"

 _"Save it!"_

He turned his head to the side and closed his eyes, unable to bear looking at that – that _traitor_ any longer.

Unfortunately, as his eyelids lowered he realised he'd made a mistake; sleep was calling, and now he was even more powerless against it as everything faded out to black.

…

Darkness.  
Everything was dark.

In the centre of an empty expanse of space, cold and dim as a starless night, Infinite found himself floating.

He strained all of his senses;  
Listening;  
Looking;  
Even scenting the void.

Nothing.

His ears laid back, and skin crawled. He felt weightless in suspension, but it wasn't comforting. The unending shadows cloaked all around, closing in on his tiny, exposed form as if readying to swallow him up. Only his white hair and markings even distinguished him against the black – were it not for those, his obsidian fur would blend right in, like he were one with the lifeless abyss.

Was he dead? Was this limbo?

A sudden, sharp pain in his leg snapped him to attention, and when he looked down, he choked in horror as what was once a fully-functional limb began to disintegrate into a cluster of red cubes. Infinite reached down to grasp at them, desperately trying to pull everything back together, but the moment his fingers made contact with one of the hideous shapes it spread like a disease, his hand too dissolving beyond salvage.

As his entire body slowly succumbed and broke apart, the jackal parted his jaw and attempted to cry out, but no sound came out.

Only cubes.

…

With a violent shudder, Infinite's eyes shot open, no longer their yellow and blue hues but instead glowing an eerie ruby red. He couldn't see, but he could hear panicked shouts around him as his body convulsed once, twice, three times. A pain unlike any other dragged at his chest, and he sobbed and whined, claws scraping against some kind of metal surface like nails on a chalkboard.

"Turn off the machine! _It's killing him!"_

"But what about extracting the ruby –"

 ** _"Turn it off!"_**

Unable to control his movements, Infinite could do little more than screech through the tremendous agony as it continued to send him into involuntary spasms.

It hurts.  
 _It hurts!  
It hurts!_

 ** _Please make it stop!_** There was a loud whirring sound, and he felt a small wave of relief as whatever was pulling on his ruby released it's vice-like grip, but he was still struggling greatly to endure the damage that had already been done. The jackal twisted and turned, feeling some kind of straps rub at his wrists and ankles. Despite his hatred of restraint, and all the reminders of his past the sensation brought back, he faintly felt glad they were there or he'd be on the floor by now.

"What – What do we do now?"

"Hold him still where the restraints aren't as effective, like his chest, but be careful you don't hurt him!"

Infinite tried to tell who was speaking, but their voices mingled together and were all fuzzy and muffled. The pain was slowly becoming less intense, and his reactions gradually spaced out more, however he could feel his grip on consciousness was very thin throughout the ordeal.

"He looks like he's gonna pass out again…"

"Ok, ok, that's fine. In fact, it's probably a good thing, that way he won't be suffering as much. Just – make sure his condition doesn't get any more critical, um, I'm not a doctor but I think the best we can do is wait out the fit. Or maybe, do we have some kind of muscle relaxant? I don't know if it'll help given that he just broke through full anaesthesia but…"

The words began to grow distant and slurred. Infinite's eyelids flickered, and slowly drooped. Again, he plunged into unconsciousness, his twitching body unable to sustain him throughout the pain.

…

Infinite awoke for the second time to white walls, his chest burning, and a strong sense of déjà vu. Almost as though it were a recreation of the first day he had arrived at the resistance's base, he found himself back in his small, solitary room, and in bed rather than whatever cold ass table he'd been on… well, wherever they'd taken him off to before. At least now he was able to see again.

For several long seconds, his absent gaze lingered on the ceiling, fixated on the same old faulty light above. Funny. He'd only been here a couple of days, but this tiny space was the only "familiar" place he had to hold onto. Staring so long began to form dots in his vision, so he turned his head to the side, wincing as his temples throbbed in protest and even the smallest motion made him feel like he had to throw up. When he did so, he was met with a sight he hadn't expected;

The wolf was sitting there, in the chair. He looked like the life had been completely sucked out of him, his shoulders sagging and eyes clouded with exhaustion.

"…Hey."

Infinite stared at him, unblinking, his mind sluggishly trying to catch up.  
Gadget shifted uncomfortably.

 _"You."_

"I'm so sorry."

He curled his lip with a ferocious, albeit strained snarl. Weakly, fingers grasped at the thin sheet covering his body. Infinite honestly wasn't sure what he was more angry about – the fact Gadget had gone back on his word, or the fact he had almost begun to believe the damn pest in the first place.

"You lied to me, you tried to fucking _kill_ me, and all you have to say is you're _sorry?"_

Gadget flinched, and usually the jackal would have felt satisfied to have elicited such a strong reaction, but instead, there was nothing but hot rage.

"I – We – We didn't know. We didn't know you needed the ruby to live…"

"Bullshit."

"It's true!" The wolf insisted, his voice raising a little. His tone was not one of denial, but of desperation. "Even despite all the hell you put us through, I meant it when I said I had no intention of hurting you! If I had known…!"

Infinite's gut churned. He opened his mouth to reply, but paled when a wave of nausea crashed against his insides and he lurched, leaning over the side of his bed as he spewed rutilant blood and bile.

Gross.

"Fucking hell…" He croaked, shivering.

Gadget moved forward in his seat, and Infinite wanted to lash out, but he had no energy left to fight as a hand reached across and gently brushed strands of loose hair from his face. The wolf steadily met his gaze, uncomfortably close, and his breath came in strangled wheezes while the ache in both his chest and head worsened.

"Are you ok…?"

"Do I _look_ fucking ok?!" Infinite hissed.

"Right, um, sorry – stupid question – I can get you some painkillers…?"

Confusion flickered in his stare.

"Pain…killers?"

Gadget nodded, and glanced to the side. "I have some here, we thought you might need them when you woke up."

When Infinite didn't reply, he reached for a small bag on the bedside table. He first withdrew a bottle, and then a –

Syringe. Oh no, not again.

The previous events replayed in his mind; being held down, the fear. The jackal reeled back, and then instantly regretted it when dizziness almost had him wretching again. Gadget had to place a hand on his shoulder so he wouldn't fall out of bed as he swayed in disorientation.

"Hey – Hey, steady. It's ok." The wolf quickly reassured, "It's just morphine. It'll help you feel better, but I'm not going to force you. I promise. This is _your_ decision."

Infinite searched his eyes for any hint of deceit. He found none.

Then he looked at the medication. There was nothing but distrust in him for things like that. Anything he'd ever been injected with had only _given_ him pain; not taken it away.

"…Have you never had a painkiller before?"

He shook his head, hesitating, before replying uncharacteristically quietly,

"I didn't even know such a thing existed."

Gadget blinked, clearly surprised.

"Well, it won't hurt – I mean, there's the needle sting, and you _might_ feel some side effects like more sickness and drowsiness, but that's it."

…

There was a brief silence as Infinite weighed his options.  
A sudden stab of pain made the choice for him as he clutched his chest, sucking in a breath through his teeth.

"Shit, _shit,_ ok. Anything to make this stop just – just get it over with quickly. And if you're lying… you know I'll make you regret it."

Gadget nodded. "It'll only take a second. I'll be gentle as I can, I just need you to hold out your arm and stay very still. And, uh, you should probably look away. The anticipation will make it worse."

Usually, Infinite would have had some kind of snarky retort, but he obliged with the requests without question, feeling too tired and woozy to argue. His ears twitched as he heard Gadget preparing the dose for the injection, and then fought every instinct that screamed at him to run when the needle pricked.

It was a pretty uncomfortable five seconds or so, and he admittedly trembled throughout, but finally he felt the horrid thing withdraw again and turned his head back to his caretaker who gave him a small thumbs up of confirmation.

"All done. It's fast-acting, like the anaesthesia was, so you should start feeling the relief pretty quick. I'll go get something clean up the, uh," He gestured to the glowing vomit on the floor, "you know. Would you… like something to eat and drink? I know you never had breakfast, and now it's well past lunch. You must be starving."

The jackal bit his lip. He didn't want to eat only to puke it up again, but just as Gadget had stated, he was famished. Plus, it'd get rid of the vile taste of sick in his mouth.  
Shudder.

"…Yeah."

"Alright. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Gadget began to rise out of his chair, and stretched a little. How long had he even been sitting there, watching over Infinite 'til he'd awoken…?

The jackal was about to lay back down as Gadget headed for the door, before he paused and spoke again with a glance over his shoulder, lingering just inside the room.

"Oh, and… I just want you to know that, uh, you did good. Taking the medication, I mean. You seem to have an aversion to it, so… overcoming that was probably hard."

And then he was gone.

Left alone, Infinite found himself silently dwelling on those words; words he'd never really heard before.

 _"You did good."_

* * *

Notes: happy new year everyone! sorry for taking so long to update aaaAaaAAA i feel rly bad - ive been running into obstacle after obstacle its true hell BUT HERE'S CHAPTER 3! i have to admit there's uh... quite a bit i'm not super proud of (namely, i once again did way too much tell over show in the beginning) but there's also stuff i'm happy with and i hope you enjoy! please understand i'm still pretty novice to the writing scene haha,,

EDIT (14/06/19): made some small tweaks to improve quality!


	4. And they were Roomates

"Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war." – John Adams

* * *

 **iv.**

Infinite hated a lot of things.

Relying on others, displaying weakness – repulsive.  
Needles, medicines – untrustworthy, discomforting, reminders of times best forgotten.  
The cold – an obvious one; he was a jackal. Their species had a natural aversion to lower temperatures. Regardless of whatever Eggman had tampered with in his DNA his displeasure toward chill weather remained.  
Confined spaces – much akin to needles, reminders of the past. Small areas made him feel trapped.  
Being called short, or small - …no, he wasn't insecure about his height; about being undersized for his kind. Not at all.

The list could go on, but goddamn, in this moment he had to say he hated silence the most.

Silence was usually not something that bothered the jackal. There were definitely exceptions; the times where it was dangerous, where he was left alone with only the wretched voices in his head to taunt and degrade him and he had no way to block it out, the times it felt _suffocating_ , even. But, for the most part, he actually tended to enjoy it, using the undisturbed periods of calm to meticulously work through his thoughts like untangling a bunch of mixed yarn balls one string at a time.

Today, unfortunately, was not one of those days, and frankly he swore he was going to go mad if even just another minute passed without so much as a single fucking word spoken.

It had been several days since the _incident_ now, and slowly but surely Infinite was recovering again, with the aid of those "painkillers"… though the process of administering them was still something that made him greatly uncomfortable. The wolf, Gadget, still seemed to feel particularly guilty about the whole ordeal. Whenever he was on shift, he had been bringing him extra food, trying to talk to him more… it was irritating, but Infinite would take him and his blathering over some of the other loathsome resistance folk he'd been forced to put up with. Especially at this current moment.

In the chair beside him this afternoon sat a black and red hedgehog he vaguely knew as Shadow. And he was… quiet.

Now, as previously established, generally Infinite liked quiet, but this was a kind of quiet that unnerved him and he wasn't quite certain as to why.

Striped arms folded across a fluffy white chest, one leg crossed over the other. Crimson eyes, sharp, piercing. They fixated on Infinite, as if studying him, analysing him, and it was just… discomforting. The jackal fidgeted.

 _I get it, I'm an eyesore. Quit fucking gawking._

Yeah, sure, he was used to being stared at by the others too. Must be hard for them _not_ to… But this was different somehow. He met Shadow's scrutinising, but otherwise unreadable look with a heavy stare of his own, narrowing his gaze back at him as though in challenge.

Shadow's expression didn't change.  
Infinite lightly ground his teeth, glaring harder.  
Shadow's expression still didn't change.

Neither blinked.

…

Infinite's eyes grew dry.  
His lids twitched.

Shadow, on the other hand, was motionless as a statue. It was almost a bit creepy.

He squinted, desperately trying to resist instinct.  
Don't give him the satisfaction, don't give him the satisfaction, _don't give hi –_

"So you're Infinite."

He blinked.  
 **Shit!**

Infinite hadn't expected Shadow to speak first.  
And, even if he had, Infinite also wouldn't have expected he'd just _state the blatantly obvious._

"Oh, I am?" He raised a brow, the sarcasm rolling right off his tongue, "I had _no idea."_

Shadow didn't seem phased.

…

Was that it? Was he just going to point out a damn fact and then nothing more? What the hell was this guy playing at?

Infinite's fingers curled.  
His tail, dangling over one side of the bed, flicked in agitation.  
Several heartbeats passed.

"I didn't know what to expect when I came in today," The hedgehog then spoke again, so calmly, as if he hadn't even noticed the jackal's growing anger whatsoever, "You're less aggressive that I would have anticipated."

"Is that so? I'll show you aggressive if that's what you want." He sneered. Infinite was tired, he was sore, and this bastard was pressing each and every one of his buttons.

Infuriatingly, Shadow, once again, didn't seem phased.

"Right. And how do you plan to assert yourself sitting in a hospital bed?"

Hot rage bubbled in Infinite's gut, and he curled his lip back in a snarl. The absolute nerve…!

"Are you fucking _trying_ to provoke me?!"

Shadow shook his head, his mannerisms reeking of indifference no matter how pissed off the jackal became. "No. I'm just asking you a question."

Muscles stiffened as Infinite resisted the urge to lunge.  
Deep breaths.  
Deep. Fucking. Breaths.

"You'd be wise to not underestimate me, _vermin."_

"Tch. Who said anything about underestimating you? I don't underestimate you. You caused a lot of problems, and that's putting it real damn lightly… If any of us underestimated you, you wouldn't be locked up in this room and under twenty-four hour observation."

Infinite exhaled in an irritated huff.  
He would _not_ admit this bothersome sewer rat had a point.

"…What the hell ever."

A pause.

"…Speaking of which, how long is this going to go on? Are you keeping me here 'til I rot?"

The hedgehog snorted softly. "Well, actually, I was asked to discuss that with you. By Gadget, specifically. He insisted we ought to be keeping you in the loop from now on."

...Huh? Gadget had requested they share their plans with him? That was…  
Considerate. He supposed. Not like he was going to go out of his way to say thanks, but Infinite… appreciated it.

"And?"

"In short, we can't keep you here in this room much longer. Issues have begun to arise; other members of the resistance, the ones who don't know about you, are becoming suspicious. It's getting too risky. We also need all the space we can get for other patients… even a single bed counts and you're recovering pretty well. However, you surely know we can't just let you go either."

Infinite sighed, rolling his eyes. "Obviously. What's your plan, then?"

Shadow shrugged. "Varies depending on your behaviour. We decided as follows… Plan A; if you cause any trouble, you're going straight into a cell in the basement where it's more secure and there's less chance of you being discovered. It's cold, it's dark, and you won't like it. That's not a threat – it's a promise."

"Wonderful." Infinite deadpanned.

"I'm not finished. Plan B; should you prove you can manage to control that temper of yours, you'll be discharged into a new accommodation and remain confined there until further notice. It'll be considerably more comfortable than the first option, so be smart about this. You have a week to decide what you prefer and act accordingly. However," The hedgehog continued, "We do have to take precautions no matter what happens next. So today you'll be fitted with inhibitor rings."

Well that was a mouthful.

The jackal wrinkled his snout as he processed all this information, deciding to ignore the comment on his temper for now. He most certainly did not have anger issues. Everything and everyone else was just incredibly annoying.

What new accommodation?  
And what were inhibitor rings…? He must have looked confused, as Shadow tapped one of the golden rings secured around his wrists, explaining without prompt,

"That's what these things are. In short, as the name implies they'll inhibit you from using your powers. But they won't actually drain or alter the balance of energy in your body, so it doesn't hurt. Think of it like a cap – you still have that energy within, they just prevent you from releasing it. If we couldn't remove your ruby we figured it was the next best thing. Tails – the fox kid, if you didn't know – is bringing by a pair shortly. I suggest you don't fight it when the time comes to put them on you."

Hm… he supposed that made sense.

Briefly Infinite wondered why Shadow himself would have such things, but his attention was more seized by the fact he was going to lose his powers.

Fuck… there went any slim chance of regaining his former glory.  
Though oddly, he... didn't feel too disappointed…?

The prospect of being rendered powerless was intimidating; he'd been accustomed to having these abilities for almost as long as he could remember, to the point he almost wondered if he'd even be himself without them. But after all - what was even the point anymore? Why bother trying to destroy again? Eggman was gone, screwed off to god-knows-where; the primary reason he did all that crap was simply because the man commanded it, it was the very purpose of his existence. He already failed in that purpose once.

And as for the other reason… well, what good would it do? Ha… He knew deep down whether he wanted to accept it or not, that hurting others, in the end, wouldn't take away his own pain, nor would it bring _them_ ba-

Infinite stopped his train of thought there.  
Back to the discussion at hand.

"I see… I suppose I should have expected nothing less. Do as you will. I don't care."

If Shadow was surprised by his compliance, he didn't show it. He simply gave a curt nod. "Once they're on, you won't be able to take them off again. And they're indestructible, so if you ever think to try anything... don't bother."

"I figured as much."

Infinite bit his lip, and his brows furrowed in thought.  
That was one of his questions answered, but what about…?

"Should we end up going with Plan B… where will you have me stay?"

"Gadget was the first – and only – volunteer to keep an eye on you. And we thought it seemed fitting, anyway, given he was the one to land us in this mess in the first place. So you'd stay with him at his apartment."

That wolf.  
He should have known.

…

Infinite picked at one of his claws, a tic of his, as he realised he wasn't as repulsed by the idea as he thought he probably should be. Maybe he was just tired. Yeah. Tired. He still didn't like Gadget, not at all, but at the very least he could concede he was… moderately tolerable. There were definitely worse insects to be housemates with. And he'd certainly take it above a cell in a dingy old basement…

 ** _Ugh_**.  
He was going to have to co-operate, wasn't he? As distasteful as the thought was, there was little choice unless he wanted to seal himself to the shittier fate.

A light knock at the door drew him from his thoughts.

"Come in." Shadow answered.

Long ears twitched as it creaked open agonisingly slowly.  
Infinite sighed.

"Sometime today would be nice." He mumbled gruffly.

A deep inhale was heard on the other side, then a heavy exhale, as if someone was bracing themselves to dive right into ice cold water. "...Right. Sorry."

The apology didn't sound sincere.

A young, twin-tailed fox shuffled in, his two tails tucked between his legs slightly. His hands were quivering just a little, grip tight on the small, rectangular box he carried, but whether out of fear or anger, one could not be so certain; the body language with his tails indicated the former, but the steely, determined expression on his face indicated the latter. There was fire behind those eyes.

Infinite had probably traumatised him - stealing Sonic away before his eyes, leaving him in the dark as to if Sonic was even alive. It was unsurprising that his presence up close would elicit... not so positive reactions.

The jackal rolled his eyes. This was almost painful to watch. Almost.

"I'm not going to bite your head off, kid."

The fox kit gave a few blinks when being addressed directly. He looked at Infinite and swallowed. "Like I'd let you."

"That so, huh?"

Shadow shot him a warning glance.  
Tails tensed. He frowned.

"Yeah, you heard me. I'm not afraid of you anymore, Infinite."

"Oh?" Infinite cocked his head, feigning curiosity. "How come? Because your rodent friends will protect you even if I wanted to hurt you?"

"That's enou-" Shadow began to interject, before Tails cut him off, his fur puffing up, scowl hardening,

" _No_. No… that's not why."

Infinite blinked plainly. "Of course not. My mistake."

The kit growled at him.

"Alright, listen. I may be a kid, but I don't need to cower in the shadows of others, and I don't need to be rescued. _Especially_ not from the likes of people like _you._ Me and my friends are a team, and if you do hurt me or any of them _ever_ again I'll… I'll…" His teeth grit, he glanced at Shadow as if searching for the right words, then back at Infinite, "I'll kick your ass."

…  
Oh my god. Oh? _My god?_ Was this little runt trying to intimidate him?

Infinite snorted before he could stop himself, and Shadow in the chair beside him sounded like he'd just choked on his own spit. It was the most emotive the jackal had ever seen - or rather heard - him.

"Hey, who… who the hell taught you to talk like that?!"

"By the sounds of it, you probably did…" Infinite smirked, tutting. "Tsk, tsk. What a bad influence you are to the children."

Shadow's quills bristled.

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you."

"I'd love to see you try."

"That a challenge, jackal?"

"...Guys."

"Why yes, it is; and one you're sure to lose."

"I wouldn't get so cocky if I were you."

 _"Guys!"_

Infinite and Shadow turned their heads to Tails as he huffed, his raised fur gradually settling again.

"Chill."

"Coming from the person that just told me they'd kick my ass." Infinite remarked.

"You had that coming." Tails shrugged. "But now we're just bickering and it's pointless."

Shadow grunted. "You're right," he regarded Infinite with a disapproving glance, "about both things. Ok, let's just get on with it. But Tails?"

"Yeah?"

"Swearing is all good, and I don't plan on scolding you, but don't ever go around saying fuck in front of Sonic or he'll have my head on a stick."

"Good, cause I'm not sorry. But I won't. Promise."

Shadow gave the faintest hint of a smirk. "Good."

"What happened to getting on with it?" Infinite grumbled.

Tails rolled his eyes. "Yeesh, so impatient... right. Here."

The fox stepped forward as the atmosphere slowly eased, placing down the box he was still holding onto the bed and removing the lid to reveal two silver inhibitor rings. "These should do the trick if all my calculations were correct. Shadow, do you wanna put them on him, or should I?"

Infinite peered into the box. The rings shone as they were exposed to the fluorescent light of the room.

"I'll do it myself. Would prefer to keep my personal space just that - _personal."_

Shadow shrugged. "Fair enough."

Taking them out one at a time, the jackal stared quietly at their gleaming surfaces for a short moment. There was no going back once these things were on...

But he bit the bullet.

Getting them on by himself was a little awkward, as he had to do each with only one hand, but he absolutely did _not_ require help and soon enough they were firmly locked in place around both of his wrists. Despite being rather chunky, they didn't feel as heavy as he thought they were going to. The metal – or, whatever material they were made of – was a bit cold, but overall, not too discomforting.

He could live with this.

 _Don't think about how you just got rid of your powers._  
 _Don't think about how much_ _ **weaker**_ _you are now._  
 _Just don't think about it._

It was going to be fine.

"Looks like you're all set…" Tails spoke, breaking the brief silence and forcing Infinite to focus, "Over the course of the upcoming days 'til we've decided what we're doing with you, we'll run some tests just to make completely sure they're functioning properly – doesn't hurt to double check these things."

Infinite bit his lip. Tests. He didn't like that word…  
Brought back unpleasant memories.

"Tests…?"

The fox kit nodded. "Nothing painful. We just need you to try using your powers to make sure you really can't."

Thank god.

"Alright… makes sense."

"Just don't over-exert yourself. I'd assume your ruby is still recovering." Shadow advised.

Infinite scoffed a tad. "I'm not stupid."

"Never said you were. Anyway," The hedgehog glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall and began to slowly push out of his chair, stretching, "With that out of the way I think it's about time for lunch. I'll go get you something, don't do anything dumb while I'm gone. C'mon Tails."

Shadow headed for the door, gesturing for Tails to follow along.

"Let me guess… soup again?"

"Maybe with some bread and cheese if you quit whining."

"Asshole."

"Takes one to know one."

Tails poorly attempted to muffle a snort at the exchange between the pair, him and Shadow exiting the room and naturally, locking the door behind them, leaving the jackal by himself.

"…Touché, hedgehog. Touché."

* * *

And so, just like that the next seven days came and went. Seven dull, boring, resentful days of reluctantly complying with the demands of the damned resistance fools just so that he wouldn't end up locked in a dank basement.

Over this time period Infinite regained more of his stability, undergoing the tests as had been planned, and on the final day where his fate was to be decided, it was revealed that they were going ahead with Plan B; he had went along with everything and behaved _just_ acceptably enough that he was going to live with Gadget.

The wolf had showed up early in the morning, offering him a small, awkward smile as he placed down two plastic bags by the side of the jackal's bed with a soft rustle.

"Uh… hey."

A blue eye cracked open.

"Ugh. Morning."

Infinite parted his jaws in a yawn, sitting up in bed groggily. For once, he had slept in a bit, though the dark bags under his eyes remained strong as ever regardless of the extra hours he'd fitted in. He eyed Gadget up and down as he loosely ran a hand through his messy hair, then shifted his gaze to the bags. "What's with all the junk?"

Gadget rolled his eyes. "Not junk. It's clothes."

The jackal quirked a brow. "Clothes?"

A nod. "Yeah. Me and the others had a meeting last night and uh, well – ok, I'll get right to the point. We decided on Plan B, so… you're gonna be moving in with me."

"You don't seem too enthusiastic."

Gadget sighed.

"Would you be in my position?"

"Guess not. Why'd you sign yourself up for this then?"

The wolf hummed, hesitating. "Well... It felt like my responsibility. And nobody else volunteered anyway."

"You could've just let them go with Plan A. Wouldn't that have been a more fitting punishment for someone like me?"

"If…" Gadget paused, seeming to be searching for the right words. "Maybe. Maybe you're right. But… if we locked you up then you wouldn't get the chance to try and change. And I think… even you deserve that. And besides, once the public know about you, we do plan to have you doing plenty of reconstruction work alongside everyone else, so you're not getting off scot-free."

...  
The wolf thought he deserved a chance?  
What? Why?  
Why the fuck would anyone in their right mind give a war criminal like him a second chance? As far as Infinite was concerned, it was stupid, naïve, and outright nonsensical. So that's what he said.

"That's stupid, naïve, and outright nonsensical."

Gadget chuckled wearily. "Probably."

Infinite frowned.

"I've caused countless injuries, deaths, and trauma."

"I know."

"I tried to destroy the whole fucking lot of you."

"I know."

"So why the _hell_ do you think I deserve a _second chance?!"_

"Because… because I think… nobody is inherently evil, and everyone can change; if they just try."

Infinite scoffed. "You'll get yourself torn apart with that mindset. Not everybody wants to change."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

Gadget leant against the wall, propping a foot against it. "Where do you fall? Do you want to change?"

Infinite found himself discomforted by the question. He fisted at the bedcovers.

"…Let's drop this topic. None of this still answers why you brought me clothes."

 _People like me can't change._  
 _It's meaningless to try._

 _I don't deserve to get to try, even if I wanted to._

 _I don't want to. Do I?_

Gadget looked like he wanted to persist and push the discussion, but didn't. He sighed.

"Right. Getting you out of here and through town unrecognized isn't exactly going to be easy. I'll be taking the rear exit and we'll go down as many quiet routes as possible, but still… so that's where I figured a wardrobe change might come in handy."

He hadn't really considered how they'd actually get him from point A to point B… he'd assumed some kind of armored vehicle or something, but they were just going to go on foot? Well… transport like that would have drawn attention, so even if this way was oddly risky for the resistance – trusting him not to run off when only one person is with him – it was more inconspicuous. Gadget's logic also made good sense. In his old attire he'd be recognized by any civilians or other resistance folk immediately, and he didn't exactly want to travel around stark naked.

Infinite stretched and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, leaning down to dip into the bags with curiosity. He started pulling things out.

Loose, long white tank top. Black leather jacket, ¾ sleeved with cuffs at the end, two inside pockets and several outside ones, with silver zippers and studded shoulders. Ripped jeans, also black. White and black boots, tall, with red laces. Sitting at the very bottom were some socks, a pair of fingerless white gloves and black elastic bands for his hair… and, wait… his scarf?

He assessed it with a bit of surprise.

"…Oh! Yeah, I almost forgot – your scarf. We can't really let you keep anything else from your old outfit, but I convinced the others to allow you to have that." Gadget informed, idly tugging at the strap for his utility belt.

"Figured." Infinite paused briefly then tilted his head in confusion. "Er… you didn't have to do that, you know."

"I know. But I wanted to."

"Why…?"

"Just did, I guess." The wolf shrugged, as if he didn't even need a reason.

Infinite was lost. To do a thoughtful deed, just for the sake of it... why do something to gain nothing? And for someone like him? The very same person who had tried to obliterate the entire fucking planet?

He couldn't understand.  
He just couldn't understand.

Noticing his sudden silence, Gadget seemed to grow concerned. "You ok?"

"You're... peculiar. I don't get why you would do that when you get nothing in return. But then, I guess that I…" He hesitated, not meeting Gadget's eyes and lowering his voice. "…I acknowledge the thought. Don't worry about everything else. Wasn't really attached to any of it."

Gadget blinked, evidently caught off guard by the jackal's attempted form of gratitude; his words seemed to hold appreciation, even if they were reluctant and awkward. He smiled slowly.

"Don't mention it. Sorry if the clothes don't fit well, though… we don't exactly have the luxury of just going to a mall anymore, and I don't know your exact size. It's actually really old stuff I outgrew like, years ago. Dunno why on earth I kept it all, but I'm glad it's come in handy. Even if it's in a reeeally unexpected way, haha…"

Interesting. These were once the wolf's own clothes? Hard to imagine him in them. Though Infinite had to admit, he had good aesthetic choice. The colours all fit together well and the general "rough" style seemed right up his own street. He had no complaints.

"You dressed like this?"

For perhaps the first time, Gadget looked a bit amused.

"You seem surprised. But yeah, I did - still kinda do, actually … During the war I just had to be more practical in my fashion choices, y'know? I'll show you my closet if you don't believe me. And my piercings."

Infinite cocked his head as he slid out of bed, preparing to get himself dressed. "Piercings…?"

"You'll see."

Over the past few days, the jackal had stood up once or twice while going through the motions of his tests; supervised by Shadow and Tails, sometimes others. Or to be escorted to the bathroom… Though, after being bedridden the majority of the time for so long since his arrival at the base, he still felt a bit wobbly on his feet, not so accustomed to moving around much.

He decided to start with the jeans, but as he lifted one leg and began to try and put them on, Infinite quickly realised he should have done this while remaining sitting down.

Shit.  
Shitshitshit-

Balance was lost on the other as it failed to support his entire body weight and he began to topple over. The ground drew closer at a rapid speed and he closed his eyes, bracing for an impact – that never came.

Gadget had caught him.

Heart thumping from the sudden adrenaline rush of nearly smashing headfirst against the tiled floor, Infinite took a moment to regain his bearings, then looked up to find the wolf's face mere inches from his own. Becoming acutely aware of their proximity and the unfamiliar sensation of arms around him, he abruptly tensed.

He was being touched. Someone was - someone was _touching_ him, hands on his body, close, _way_ too close, get _off_ -

"I, um, er – shit, sorry…! When I saw you falling I just…"

Get off, _get off, stop touching me -_

He shoved the wolf in a moment of blind instinct, Gadget making a startled noise, letting go and stumbling a bit while Infinite staggered backward, still half stuck in his jeans and promptly landing on his ass.

Ow, shit, _damnit._

"Hey, what was that for?" Gadget stared down at him, bewildered, "I was just trying to help you!"

"I don't want - I don't _need_ your help! Don't..." Infinite breathed unevenly, "Just, don't touch me."

Gadget was silent for a moment. Infinite expected him to ask why, but then he simply said, "I'm sorry."

Slightly taken aback but not wanting to show it, Infinite forced a grumble.

"You should be..."

Thoroughly ashamed of his clumsy display and feeling extremely uncomfortable after the situation that had resulted from it, the jackal slowly stood again and decided to try once more to get the jeans on, this time with increased caution. Sensing Gadget's eyes on him, however, he huffed softly. He wasn't sure why but being watched as he got dressed made him feel funny.

"Hey, do you mind…" He trailed off, making a circular motion with one finger.

"Sorry! Yeah, yeah, sure!"

Gadget's tan muzzle flushed awkwardly as he obliged and turned to face the wall while the jackal shimmied into his jeans - and then, naturally, the rest of his clothing. While everything fit well enough, he'd never worn a shirt or pants before… it was odd. He especially didn't like how the vest felt against his ruby and it made the fabric jut out pretty unattractively. Infinite began to claw at the area irritatedly, ripping a hole into it for the gem to poke through. At the sound of tearing material, the wolf's ears twitched and he shifted uneasily.

"Uhhh, what are you doing?"

"Making this outfit better."

"…You're shredding a hole in the shirt aren't you?"

"Maybe."

Gadget groaned, exasperated. "Ugh, alright. But you're still gonna have to zip up the jacket over the ruby to hide it until we're safe at my place."

"No shit. …Alright, you can turn around. I'm done."

Infinite was tugging up the zipper on the jacket as Gadget did just that, and then he adorned his scarf and began to tie up his hair, starting with a loose ponytail and then adding another band several inches below the first.

"Hm…" Gadget hummed, sweeping his eyes up and down over Infinite, "Looks good. If I didn't know you were Infinite, I'd just think you were any other jackal. The jacket sticking out 'cause of that gem of yours is a biiiit suspicious, but it's the best we can do. You… ready to set out? Think you'll be able to walk alright?"

"Ready as I'll ever be… honestly, I can't wait to get out of this fucking room. And I'll be _fine._ You worry too much, wolf."

Gadget chuckled a little. "Perhaps. Alright, let's go. Stick close. And, I probably don't need to warn you but… don't try and run off."

"Don't plan on it. I know I'd be caught, and besides…" He shook his head with a mutter. "I have nowhere to go."

Gadget nodded as he headed for the door, Infinite following behind. "Good." He peered out into the hall. "We're in the clear. Let's make this quick as we can. Follow me."

Their footsteps reverberated in the empty corridors as the two made their way to the lesser used back exit of the base. Infinite could only trail along blindly, his senses on high alert. It was kind of strange, to be sneaking around with Gadget like the wolf was an intruder among his own group.

At last, Gadget and Infinite reached the fortified door, a green exit sign dimly flickering above it. Gadget unlocked it in several places, which Infinite though was somewhat excessive, and together, they emerged into a narrow alleyway.

When the light hit his face, he immediately winced. The sky was a vibrant, brilliant blue, with few clouds drifting by to allow for the sun to freely cast it's warm, luminescent rays down onto the city; and into Infinite's eyes. Several flickies soared above, chirping birdsong as below, a pintsized jackal hissed and brought his hand up to his forehead to shield his vision. As he glanced over at Gadget, he couldn't tell whether that hint of a smile was sympathetic or entertained.

"Been a while since you've had natural daylight, right?"

"Mm…" Infinite grumbled discontentedly.

"C'mon vampire, before you start disintegrating. My place is this way."

Vampire? Disintegrating?  
Before he had the chance to ask what on earth Gadget was talking about, the wolf had begun swiftly leading him to his home.

* * *

Gadget's abode was small; a simple Park Avenue apartment, intended for one person. When the two finally piled in, Gadget locking the front door behind him, he began a tour that was over as quickly as it started given the place was so compact. Infinite followed him down the short, narrow hall, shrugging off his jacket as he did so and tossing it to the floor where several hoodies laid in an unkempt heap.

"Ok, so… here's the lounge. I have a TV but uh, they're still working on restoring signals. So I just use it to play video games!"

The wolf chattered away, possibly trying to fill the silence as he gestured around the cosy living space, and Infinite glanced around with mild curiosity, adjusting to what would now be his accommodation too.

The lounge was nothing fancy; the small TV Gadget had mentioned was nestled on a stand in one corner, with a two-seater couch facing it and a rather saggy looking beanbag, then a coffee table adjacent to that with some empty food packets and cans branded "chaos cola". There was also a rather outdated looking console with two controllers, and a few disks strewn haphazardly on the floor, where a fluffy white rug resided. At least, Infinite thought it was probably _supposed_ to be white… And finally, a few shelves hung on the wall by the window, housing various odd little knick-knacks and some kind of weird rocket-shaped lamp.

It was very… lived in.

"There's the balcony just out there," Gadget gestured to a sliding glass door, "Then there's the kitchen, um, excuse the mess…"

Infinite shrugged. He wasn't really good with conversation - nor did he really care to engage - leaving Gadget to carry it himself.

Rather than being a separate room entirely, the kitchen was segregated from the lounge by a small counter island, keeping the main space very open to give the illusion of there being more room than there truly was. Like the lounge, it was an odd mix of minimalist yet cluttered. A box of cereal had been left out on the counter top, along with a half-eaten bowl of said cereal that must have been the wolf's breakfast. There were a few cupboards on the wall, a microwave wedged neatly in the space beneath one of them, and other mundane things such as a coffeemaker, breadbin… just some essentials. The fridge sat in one corner while the stove, as well as a washer and dryer were… pretty much just where you'd generally expect them to be.

Suddenly, it looked like a light bulb had gone off above Gadget's head. He'd been blabbering on so much the jackal had very nearly drowned him out.

"…Oh! Do you actually want something to eat…? You didn't have anything back at the base this morning."

Infinite was about to shake his head before his stomach growled, and he glanced away in embarrassment. "…I suppose that'd be a good idea."

Gadget smiled a little and nodded. "Ok! Tell you what, why don't you finish exploring by yourself, while I face this mountain of dirty dishes so you can have a clean bowl."

And so, he did.

Leaving Gadget to do the washing up, he poked around the last several rooms of the apartment; these ones of which were all entirely their own space.

The first door he opened had revealed a closet.  
The second was a bathroom; toilet, shower and bath combo, sink, some toiletries – not much to see there.

The third was what was very obviously Gadget's room, even more lived in than the lounge with a bunch of clothes discarded everywhere, more snack wrappers and empty bottles and cans that needed disposal, and the usual bedroom stuff; the bed itself, not made, a small nightstand, a chest of drawers and wardrobe. There were quite a few plants, mostly cacti and succulents, and some stuff on the walls; a mirror, a bunch of posters, shelves with some miscellaneous books on, and some picture frames.

Infinite peered at them.

There was one of a couple of older wolves, likely his parents. Another had Gadget standing beside a wolf that looked exactly like him aside from having teal fur instead of red; a twin brother? Huh. He absent-mindedly wondered where Gadget's family were…

Before he realised the obvious.

They were probably dead.  
Dead because of the war.  
Dead because of him.

...  
Suddenly, Infinite didn't feel so well.

From the kitchen, he could hear Gadget softly humming along to the clatter of plates as if nothing was wrong. As if he wasn't harboring the person who tore his family apart.

Why?

He didn't always feel like this.  
Why did he feel like this?  
Why now?

Why did he feel like this?  
Why did he feel like this?  
 _Why did he feel like this?_  
 ** _Why did he feel like this?_**  
 ** _Why did he feel like this?_**

Infinite had to get out of this room, had to get away, feeling invisible hands reaching down his throat to steal his breath.

He left the room and slammed the door behind him.

Gadget's humming stopped.

"Infinite? Is everything ok?"

The concern in his voice made Infinite want to vomit.

 _I took away so much from you._  
 _Your family._  
 _Your friends._  
 _Your ordinary life before all this._

 _I tried to destroy this entire fucking planet and yet you_ _ **worry**_ _about me._

 _Why?_  
 _Why?_  
 _I don't understand, I don't fucking understand-_

"It's nothing," He forced, "Nothing at all."

There was a brief pause.  
Infinite's chest pounded painfully as he tried to regain his bearings after this completely unexpected surge of remorse.

Please don't ask what's wrong, _please don't ask what's wrong,_ _ **please-**_

"…Well, alright. Er, get settled in your room if you like, it's the one right next to mine! It used to be for guests but I, um, I never really had any… though, I'm sorry there's no actual bed. Maybe that's why nobody visited, haha. I'm almost done with the dishes!"

Right. Right, a distraction.  
That's what he needs.

And so the forth door Infinite opened was to the guest room.  
His room.  
It didn't feel like he had the right to claim it.

Trying desperately to push back his thoughts, he surveyed the space.  
It was pretty much the same size as Gadget's, though quite empty and lifeless.

Perfect for a monster like him.

A mattress sat on the floor in front of another TV on a low rectangular stand, this one an old box-like one, with a trash can beside it. On the other side of the room was a chest of drawers like the one Gadget had, and on the wall above it hung a large resistance flag. The only light source was the window with the blinds currently halfway closed, and the overhead lamp which doubled as a ceiling fan, currently turned off.

Infinite took off his boots, and then settled himself on the mattress, attempting vainly not to focus on the feelings of "I don't belong here" and "Wow, I'm an absolute disgrace". It was surprisingly plush. He pressed his back to the wall and brought his knees to his chest.

He waited for his breakfast.

...

...

Infinite really, really hated silence.

* * *

Notes: OH FUCK ITS BEEN WELL OVER A MONTH AGAIN HAH A SWEATS;;;;; HEY GUYS !

er-  
so-

...yeeea i have no good excuse really? im mentally ill in like 4 different ways nd that makes it hard for me to work but i dont feel thats a valid reason for me to take so long. H.

anyway! its an update! as usual im never fully satisfied with my work but theres parts i really do like and its also longer than my usual so ! i hope you enjoy! i also hope nobody minds that this chapter is fully infinite pv ?

EDIT (16/4/19): did some editing and tweaking! tried to make in particular tails' section better bc hes REALLY hard for me to write idkw. i want to show hes not a coward bc that one part w chaos in forces... this aint it chief. i also forgot last time to mention gadget has a balcony so i threw it in now as its where a very important scene is gonna take place later!

EDIT (15/06/19): more edits have been made for improvement of characterisation and general quality!


	5. Echoes of the Past

"Sometimes memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks." - Unknown

* * *

 **v.**

Honestly, Gadget couldn't believe he was doing this. Gadget really couldn't believe he was doing this.

As the tall wolf stood by the sink, scrubbing at dirty plates with a disposable sponge, homemade soap and thankfully, clean water – he lived in an area lucky enough to have avoided supply contamination and retained that privilege – he pondered on his current predicament.

He was housing a war criminal.  
He was housing _Infinite._

Had he gone crazy? He was probably crazy. What if Infinite turned on him? What if he tried to kill him? He could - he could just come up behind him and -

Gadget surpressed the urge to glance over his shoulder.

 _It's just paranoia. He's in his room, and he's not gonna attack me. Besides,_ he rinsed off a dish and set it on the rack, _I signed myself up for this._

... Still, it was hard to convince himself that it was safe. Probably because nobody could know for sure if it really was. Infinite's attitude had mellowed out over the past ... week and a half? Two weeks? He at the very least wasn't trying to _bite_ anyone anymore ... but Gadget didn't _know_ him. He supposed he'd just have to roll with the punches and hope for the best.

Of course, it wasn't just anxiety that posed an issue - it was letting go of other feelings too.

Gadget could put on a strong front; he could look and sound more confident than he felt, if he really set his mind to it. He'd had a little too much practice with it in the past, in fact. It was how he'd been managing so far, and throughout the war. But ... the damage inside didn't just disappear. He was struggling. Struggling to put his own emotions aside for the greater good, for what he hoped would be the start of a changing process for the jackal.

He was still bitter. He was still hurting. It was incredibly difficult to not be mad, or upset toward Infinite for all of his deeds, to instead try and put it in the backseat, and sometimes he almost wondered if he'd done the right thing to save his life that day.

But he couldn't think like that.  
He couldn't doubt himself.  
And he couldn't let himself snap, or he'd be pushing Infinite further away when what he _needed_ to do was get closer so he could help him.

 _He doesn't deserve your help,_ mumbled a small voice in the back of his head.  
Gadget bit his lip.  
 _You should've just left him to die._  
Gadget clenched the sponge tight, wringing the water out of it.  
 _You could still just take him back and ditch him. He deserves to be locked up in that cell._  
Gadget took a deep breath.

 ** _No._**

He had made his decision and to go back on it now would be dishonourable and cowardly. He was going to guide Infinite through rehabilitation if it was the last thing he did.

 _"He was being conditioned for evil right from his very first breath.",_ Amy's words to Knuckles ran through his mind, _"He's never even had the opportunity to know anything else but pain."_

He heaved a sigh, shoulders sagging.

As much as Infinite should still be held accountable for his actions, Gadget reminded himself to think of the circumstances. To Infinite... he was just doing what he was made for and ordered to do. That didn't make it right, it wasn't an excuse, but it was different than if he'd done it _purely_ out of malice. That was something. It was _something_. He had to hold onto it.

After he had finished rinsing off the final bowl, he dried it with a tea towel and grabbed the cereal from the counter with a short huff. Yesterday he'd made the mistake of doing what you should never do, under _any_ circumstance; taken the bag out of the box. You know when that happens, and you can never get it back in again properly? Yeah. That. So dissatisfying.

Pulling out said bag from where it had been awkwardly squashed and forced halfway back in, he poured some cornflakes. They were a bit bland on their own, though, so Gadget put a bit of sugar on them, then fetched a near empty bottle of milk from the fridge. Dairy products were harder to come by these days, and were strictly rationed.

Man. He missed chocolate shakes.

Gadget added the last of the milk to the cereal and grabbed a spoon, before taking Infinite his breakfast. Finding the jackal sitting silently in his room, knees to his chest and tail curled round his body as though he were sulking, he headed over to the mattress on the floor and knelt down, offering the bowl.

"Here."

Infinite twitched his large ears and looked up at him. Wordlessly, he took it and held it in his hands, staring into it for a moment. Blank.

Something was up.  
Yeah, Infinite was usually not that responsive in general, but this was different.

The wolf contemplated asking if he was alright, but he figured that'd probably just get him all defensive. He was a tough case; difficult to read and when he _could_ be read it was because he was displaying very blatant displeasure. Absent-mindedly he wondered if Infinite had ever felt anything akin to happiness...

Several long seconds passed.  
Gadget cleared his throat awkwardly. Too quiet.

"Hey, um... so once you're done with that, you can... take a bath if you like? You haven't had access to one in a while, right?"

"...Yeah. Sure, whatever."

"Alright, I'll fill the tub. It may take a while, though."

"Ok."

Gadget snorted. "A 'thanks Gadget' would be nice." He said sarcastically, half hoping it'd prompt Infinite to react with even a hint of emotion, even if it were sass.

Infinite didn't reply.  
Of course he didn't.

He stood up straight and began to leave the jackal to pick at his cereal, before Infinite spoke suddenly, uncertainly,  
"Wait."

Gadget stopped, lingering in the doorway.

"Yeah?"

...

Infinite inhaled sharply and opened his mouth as if about to speak.  
He shook his head.

"...Nevermind."

The wolf furrowed his brows.

"Spit it out."

Infinite shuffled uncomfortably.  
Tail wrapped tighter around a shrinking frame.

"Your... your family."

Oh.

"They're dead, aren't they?"

It almost sounded more like a statement than a question.  
Gadget paused; he took a deep breath, folding his arms and leaning his weight against the doorframe.

"I don't know."

Infinite's eyes flittered back and forth between Gadget and his cereal.

"...I see."

Memories of his parents, of his brother, flashed through his mind as a chill pang of grief stabbed through his chest;

When the war began, awaking in the middle of the night to a panicked phone call from the former as they fled from their collapsing home, his shock, desperate attempts at reassurance. The explosions in the background, the shrill screams, and the last time he'd heard their voices, sobbing, telling him that if they died, they loved him, were so proud of him, and to tell Gizmo the same. The garbled static of the line before it cut entirely. He never knew if they got out alive.

And Gizmo... oh, Gizmo. He'd never heard from him at _all_. No calls, nothing. He'd searched his brother's home and found him gone without a trace, not a single lead, no note left behind to hint at his whereabouts. There'd probably been no time. He wondered sometimes if Gizmo had ever sought him out, too, and held onto the hope that someday they would be reunited.

Finally, deciding dwelling on such memories would only make him feel shitty, Gadget swallowed the growing lump in his throat and spoke again,

"Why would you ask something like that?"

"The... pictures. In your room."

"Oh."

Infinite didn't seem like he planned to say anything else after that. Gadget doubted trying to get more out of him was the best idea either.

Silence fell anew.

...

Infinite took a mouthful of cornflakes.

"...Hey, what... what is this?"

Gadget blinked. "Uhhh... cereal?"

 _"Obviously."_ He rolled his eyes. "But... it tastes so... sweet?"

"Oh, that. I put sugar on it."

"Sugar..." Infinite mouthed the word slowly. His eyes seemed a little lighter than before.

"Have you... never had sugar before?"

The jackal shook his head, inspecting the food as though he'd discovered some kind of ancient treasure.

"It's... it's amazing."

Despite the heavy atmosphere just moments prior, Gadget found his lips quirk up just a touch. It was kind of funny, he had to admit, watching such a stern and grumpy individual become completely fascinated with something so ordinary.

"Yeah, I know. If you like sweet stuff I'll have to show you candy sometime. It's er, not very healthy or filling, but it tastes pretty great."

Infinite, for once, seemed mildly interested in something Gadget had to say.  
"Candy?" He echoed curiously.

"Uh huh. I'll get my hands on some sometime and let you try it. Anyway..." Gadget pushed off the doorframe again and stretched a little, "I'm gonna get your bath ready. I'll let you know when it's done."

An acknowledging nod was received in response.

With that, he left Infinite to his own devices, going to fill the tub until it was about halfway, and then eventually called for the jackal.

Infinite came in and Gadget tried to hold back a snort as he stepped in a puddle of which he honestly had no idea how it got there, soaking one socked foot. The way his face scrunched up so uncharacteristically was kinda hilarious.

 _Oh, I know that feeling._

"Hey, uh ... It's all set. Holler if you need anything. Clean towel's on the rack, use whatever toiletries of mine you want."

Still grimacing, the jackal nodded.  
Gadget couldn't help but snicker a bit, to which Infinite shot him an unimpressed a look. There was just something a bit amusing, about seeing this supposed superweapon of a man cringe at a wet sock. And something ... almost comforting, too - seeing him behave like, like he was a normal person, with feelings, not just an emotionless steel wall.

"Right. I'll leave you to it."

The wolf exited the room and shut the door behind him, allowing Infinite to wash in peace. Somehow, he felt like he'd forgotten something.

A couple of minutes later, as he was picking up a few pieces of trash from around the lounge, he heard a rather undignified squeal, followed by,  
 _"Hey, Gadget, what the fuck?! This shit's_ _ **freezing!"**_

...Oops. That was it. The water at his place was clean... but not hot. It totally slipped his mind to warn his new roommate.

Infinite was going to kill him.

* * *

The rest of the day was rather uneventful.

After Infinite got out of the – fucking _frigid_ \- bath, feeling cold as hell but at least somewhat refreshed, he spent most of his time sort of just... vacantly shuffling around the apartment. There wasn't much to do to pass time around here, and he still felt very... not belonging.

He inspected the fridge in the kitchen; your average groceries, not much to see there. Boring.  
He poked in the storage closet; cleaning supplies, a vacuum, various cardboard boxes. Boring.  
He paced the lounge and flicked through some of the video games in a compartment on the TV stand; he couldn't see the appeal. Boring.

Infinite sighed and slumped on the couch, running a hand through his silky locks of hair – he'd freed it all to brush through it and never bothered to tie it back up for now.  
Boring, boring, _boring._

The time eventually came when Gadget, who had spent most of the day decluttering the apartment a bit more and sifting through some kind of paperwork, said they should have dinner then get some sleep. After an awkward, quiet meal consisting of only some simple pot noodles, the two headed into their respective rooms to settle down for the night with very few words exchanged, lost in their own heads.

Except Infinite _couldn't_ settle.

He laid awake on the mattress, eyes fixed on the ceiling.  
Numb.  
Out of place.

This "bed" wasn't his.  
This apartment wasn't his.  
This life didn't even feel like his.

Infinite tossed and turned for hours into the night, restless. But when sleep finally came, it wasn't the release from his thoughts he'd hoped for.

 **. . .**

Infinite opened his eyes to find himself floating.  
But this time; not in darkness; in a cylindrical tank, with wires connected to his body and fully submerged in breathable green-tinted liquid.  
He placed a hand against the cool glass as recognition flooded his senses instantly.

This was his birthplace.

A surge of deja vu struck through him as a man, an all too familiar man strode up to the tank, eyeing him up and down as he stroked his moustache.

 _I remember this..._

"Orbot, Cubot!"

"Yes, Doctor Eggman sir?" Two robots chorused.

"What are the readings for Subject Twenty-Five?"

The round one, presumed to be Orbot, tapped away at some kind of panel nearby, scrolling through lines upon lines of data that he couldn't make out. "Hmm, let's see... heartrate, normal. Blood pressure, normal. Temperature normal... PR energy levels remain average. Everything reads just fine, sir! All in all, he is a stable specimen."

"Good, good... drain the containment tank."

Again, the tapping was heard, muffled from the outside of the tank, and then a long beep. The fluid around Infinite began to drain through a grate in the floor, until he was left standing, wobbling a bit as he adjusted to supporting his own weight. The wires disconnected. A _fwoosh_ resounded through the air as the enforced glass retracted upward, and his creator beckoned him forth eagerly, gleefully rubbing his hands together with a grin that spread right across his face. To call it unsettling would be an understatement.

Infinite took his first steps.  
He looked up expectantly.

"Greetings! I am the magnificent Doctor Eggman, your creator, and from this moment forth you will do whatever I say whenever I say it! Is that clear?" The man introduced himself.

 _Magnificent my ass._

The jackal nodded, his lips moving on their own accord.  
"...Yes, sir."

"Excellent! Glad to see you know your place. As for you, you are Subject Twenty-Five, and you must answer to that name and that name only. Good?" Infinite opened his mouth to reply but Eggman didn't give him a chance, "Good. Now, come this way, we haven't the time to dillydally!"

The man gestured for Infinite to follow him. He folded his arms behind his back, exuding an air of confidence and authority as he walked with his creation in tow down between rows of other tanks, all empty, their footfalls reverberating on the metal floor, until they came to a door. The sign on the wall beside it read simply "Laboratory".

 _Oh no._  
 _Oh no._  
 _Oh_ _ **fuck**_ _no._

Infinite knew, he knew what was about to happen. He tried to stop in his tracks, but his legs would not listen, forcing him to play along to the sequence of his past self.

 _Don't make me live this again._

Eggman typed in some kind of keycode and the door opened, granting them access. He then gestured toward a metal table in the center of the room, one that had haunted Infinite's memories for months; indicating for him to get up. Again, he fought, trying and trying to halt his body, but it was as though he were a mere puppet on a string, lacking his own free will. Panic and dread began to swell in the jackal's gut.

Infinite climbed, so obedient, onto the table.  
Eggman strapped him down while his mind yelled at him to do something, anything.  
He didn't, _couldn't_ , resist.

"Right, then... down to business. It's time to conduct your first round of tests!"

"Tests?" Infinite echoed, speech again leaving his mouth without his instruction or permission.

The doctor nodded as he began wheeling over a small cart, with various medical instruments laid out upon a sheet of sterile paper. He inspected a scalpel, the tool glinting as it caught the light.

"Exciting, isn't it? Ohoho, I bet you're going to be so powerful!" His childlike glee was incredibly unfitting for a situation like this.

 _Fucking sadist._

Infinite fidgeted apprehensively within his binds.

"Stay still!" Eggman immediately reprimanded, "This is a very delicate operation!"

 _Lying scumbag. There was nothing "delicate" about it._

The jackal stilled, as he was ordered.

"What is the purpose of these tests, Doctor?"

"Oh, a curious one you are! We're going to assess your regenerative abilities!"

 _No._  
 _No, no,_ _ **no, no, no.**_

"Regenerative abilities?"

"Yes! We must test the limitations of your advanced healing. If all is in order, you should recover from all kinds of harm far more quickly than the average mobian and be capable of enduring greater damage. There will be continued regular assessments following this one to monitor your progress and keep pushing your limits. After all, we strive for only greatness in the Eggman Empire!"

Eggman drew closer and inspected him with a hum.  
And then, he lowered the scalpel to Infinite's arm.

 _ **No no no no no no no no-**_

"We'll start relatively small. But, just gonna warn you – this will probably hurt!"

 ** _NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO-_**

He sliced, drawing an incision right down the length of his weapon's forearm.  
Rutilant blood stained on black fur.

Infinite shrieked.

 **. . .**

Infinite awoke thrashing.  
His limbs tangled in his blanket as he flailed and hyperventilated, smacking his foot into the side of the TV with a heavy _thunk_. He could feel it, he could feel the scalpel digging into his arm, deeper and deeper and _deeper_ and _deeper_ and **_deeper-_**

There was the sound of shuffling from the next room over, then a creak followed by rapid footsteps.  
Gadget swung open the door.

"Infinite?"

"Stop it, stop it, take it out!"

The wolf rushed to his side, stumbling in the dark.

"Infinite, Infinite what's going on?"

Infinite whined louder, desperately trying to claw at his arm.

"Take it out, take it out, it hurts, _please take it out!"_

Gadget grabbed both his hands, trying to still him before he wound up injuring himself.  
Infinite jerked his head toward him with wild, frantic eyes.

" _Infinite!_ It's me, it's Gadget, you're safe..."

The jackal's sides heaved with his shallow, panicked breaths.  
He tried to focus, trembling erratically.  
Gadget... this was...

Gadget.

He was in Gadget's apartment.  
He was ok.  
Everything was ok.

Infinite slowly began to calm, and Gadget let go again. Infinite gingerly touched his own arm; no pain. No blood. Just the slight bump of an old scar, hidden beneath his fur along with many others. He released a shuddery sigh.

"...Are you alright?"

He looked up at Gadget leaning over him, his expression of nothing but concern. He didn't even seem mad that Infinite had woken him up.

 _There he goes, worrying about me again._

"I... I'm fine."

"Bad dream...?"

His cheeks were wet with tears he hadn't even realised he'd been crying.  
Infinite turned his head away in shame. "Yeah."

 _Get it together, it was a dream. You're so pathetic._

"Wanna talk about it...?"

"No."

"I understand." Gadget seemed to think for a moment. "...I'll be right back. Hang tight, ok?"

The wolf stood and headed out of the room. There was some soft clinking coming from the kitchen, and a few minutes later, he returned again with a mug of warm green tea. Must've heated the water in the microwave or something.

"Here," He held it out for Infinite to take, "it's good for easing anxiety."

Infinite bristled. "I'm not –"

...

"...I'm not scared." He muttered quietly.

Gadget didn't reply. He just ... he just smiled. So hesitantly, so gently, almost - almost soothingly.  
His eyes told Infinite he understood.

 _You are._  
 _You're just not ready to admit it yet._

...Infinite took the tea.

The cup warmed his hands as the steam curled into the air. Somehow, watching it was weirdly therapeutic.

He took a sip.  
It was nice.

Should he...?  
No, yes-

"...I..." Infinite began.

Gadget hummed. "Hm?"

...

"...Thank you."

The words felt foreign on his tongue.

Gadget's smile grew bigger, the corners of his lips twitching. His gaze was tired, but bright. "You're welcome. You want me to sit with you for a bit?"

Infinite shook his head.

"I get it. Come knock for me if you have anymore problems, ok?"

"...Ok."

The wolf returned to his room. Infinite was left alone, in the dark, in silence, but somehow... he felt better. He continued to slowly drink his tea, letting it lull his thoughts.  
He still didn't get why Gadget cared.

Part of him was repulsed. Repulsed by Gadget treating him like he _needed_ care, to be looked after like some frightened animal. Repulsed by himself, for accepting help. But part of him...  
Was kind of glad he wasn't alone.

Infinite growled a bit to himself, swearing under his breath.

 _The hell are you thinking? He's the enemy!_

Was he though, anymore?

 _Yes! And you said it yourself before, you can count on nobody but yourself! You don't need anyone!_

He took a deep breath.  
Right. He was acting like a weak pup.

 _Besides,_ the voice murmured, _you know what happens when you let people in._

Yeah.

He finished his tea, and debated on trying to go back to sleep, but he wasn't tired anymore and didn't quite fancy risking another nightmare. Infinite got up, draping his blanket round his shoulders, and padded into the lounge.

He drew back the curtains and wedged his fingers in the blinds to peer outside; darkness.  
He checked the clock; two-thirty in the morning.

Sigh.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Notes: oooo boy howdy new chapter! my past self played me for having no outline for this one but i hope i made it work ! did my best!

NOW smth i wanna address Real Quick is good ol eggman bc i fear im gonna get flack.

im not trying to totally demonise him. how i wanna portray eggman personally, is... he lacks empathy? he didn't do what he did to infinite like, wanting to hurt him, its just... a "business" kinda thing. he didn't enjoy it. he was excited to see the end result of his experiment (infinites advanced healing in action) but not the process. there's no sympathy but there's no malice either ykno? he's used to dealing with robots that feel no pain, and essentially, infinite is just another weapon - he treats him more like a weapon than a person. it's cold, but eggman is just... dettached.  
so ! yea! hopefully i make sense! i've never written him before tbh, as with most of the cast of forces. in the IDW comics he experiments on helpless lil animals too so i figure he's not the type to be above this sorta thing. but! if u still don't like it u don't have to read my fic its ok!

ANYWAY ! thats all, for now! adios

EDIT (16/4/19): minor edits made


	6. Day in the Life

"Behind every mask there is a face, and behind that a story." - Marty Rubin

* * *

 **vi.**

At first, there was silence.

Warm, morning sunlight crept in through the cracks in the blinds as a new day began, casting illuminated lines across the form of a dozing jackal. His chest rose and fell with his breaths, steady and perhaps with even a vague resemblance of peace in contrast to those of hours prior, while his tail unconsciously flicked and twitched. But of course, as with all things peaceful, the moment had to eventually come to an end.

Infinite was not sure when or how he had fallen asleep, curled up in a lazy ball on the couch, but he supposed it didn't really matter. Shifting one arm that had previously been dangling over the edge of the seat, he groggily rubbed at his eyes and parted his jaws in a muted yawn. His senses were still rather jumbled as he arose from the heavy embrace of slumber, mind foggy, however suddenly large ears perked at attention;

There was a strange sound that he had never heard before.

 _What_ _ **is**_ _that?_

It was odd. Like people talking, but... more... rhythmic? Shit, what was that word again. Singing? Singing, that's what they called it, right?  
He blinked twice.  
Something else accompanied the singing, something he couldn't describe, creating a beat.  
It was all slightly fuzzy, like whatever was projecting the unfamiliar audio was kind of dated, though the jackal found it strangely charming in a weird kind of way.

Was this... music?

Of course, Infinite knew of the term, loosely it's meaning.  
But he'd never actually _heard_ it before.

The drumming noise grew louder, as did the singer's vocals, like it was all building up to something. It felt raw and aggressive, empowered.

Infinite decided he liked music.

 _"This is how we riiise up! Heavy as a hurricane, louder than a freight train!"_

Without any warning whatsoever, a new voice joined into the mix of the track, except this one was a voice he recognised, and too clear to be part of the original recording.

Gadget was singing along.

 _"This is how we riiise up! Heart is beating faster, feels like thunder!"_

Against his will, he began to snicker softly.  
 _What a fucking dork._

Starting to sit up, Infinite peered over into the kitchen area, where the wolf, still belting out of tune karaoke at the top of his lungs, hadn't even noticed the jackal was awake. He was performing some kind of elaborate, animated gesture, like he was playing some kind of invisible instrument. What kind, however, Infinite had no idea.

He sighed in slight frustration.

His knowledge was irritatingly selective and patchy; he was made to have the brain of the average twenty year old mobian, and he did, but he'd come to the conclusion that was a lot of information for Eggman to build in and that was why as a result some things were missing. So far, they were luckily often minor, such as now – he was aware the word "instrument" meant something used to create all these sounds but he had no clue how many there were or what they were called.

Infinite continued to watch Gadget for a couple more minutes, give or take, as he chose to dismiss the thoughts for now. He shifted position, propping one elbow on the armrest of the couch, leaning his cheek on his hand. When the music died down and with it Gadget's off-key howling, he coughed once.

Gadget immediately whirled around, near jumping out of his skin.

 _Now this should be entertaining._

"Having fun?" Infinite smirked, raising a brow.

Gadget's cheeks darkened in embarrassment. God, he was way too easy to mess with.

"Oh, you're... awake..." He cleared his throat, glancing away awkwardly. "How long...?"

"Long enough." Infinite chuckled. "Just so you know, you sound terrible."

The wolf made an indistinct noise and folded his arms. " _Rude_. Hey, who are you to judge anyway? You... You stick your tongue out when you sleep."

...  
 _This is not entertaining_.

Within a mere few moments the roles had been switched and it was Infinite's turn to feel humiliated. Heat rushed to the tips of his ears as he huffed indignantly.

"I do _not!"_

"Do too." Gadget met his stare again and, for the first time, slowly began to full on grin; evidently pleased he'd managed to turn the tables so quickly. Oooh, how Infinite wanted to wipe that look off his face..!

The jackal bristled. "Prove it."

Gadget's grin grew wider.  
Infinite did _not_ trust that.

"As you so wish." His eyes glimmered deviously as he reached for something laying on the counter island and came around into the lounge, holding up a small device and waving it cockily. He swiped and tapped at the screen before thrusting it in Infinite's face.

Photographic evidence.  
That-

 _"Bastard."_ Infinite hissed. "Delete it or else."

"Or else what?" Gadget challenged, raising his brows with a lopsided smile.

"I'll gut you like a fish." He growled, though the threat held little edge.

"Hmmm..." Gadget tapped his chin in mock consideration before chuckling and fixing him with a triumphant look, "I'll take my chances. It's cute. And great for blackmail."

Infinite's cheeks burnt. _Cute?!_ How dare he! How... how _insulting!_  
He was Infinite the goddamn jackal and he was anything _but_ **cute** ** _._**

"And they call _me_ evil."

Gadget snickered. "Ok, ok, I'm just fucking with you. Who would I even expose this to?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Alright wolf, you win this round."

 _I'll just steal it and delete the image when he's asleep..._

"Naturally." Came a teasing, smug reply. The wolf twitched his ears. "Anyway, it's like, ten in the morning. I'm gonna get dressed then we'll have breakfast, okay? You're probably hungry. I know I am."

Infinite merely shrugged.

While Gadget went off to put his clothes on, the jackal slouched back against the couch and tried to be patient...  
But as the minutes ticked by, he grew restless. Sitting around doing nothing was not only boring as hell, but offered no distraction from his thoughts, and he didn't like that one bit.

Infinite decided to start on breakfast himself, so he padded into the kitchen and started looking for the cereal.  
 _Not here... not here either..._  
He finally found it in one of the cupboards and muttered a curse.  
Top shelf.

Infinite stretched his arm and stood on his tiptoes, straining to reach. No such luck. His fingertips barely so much as brushed the edge of the box. He rolled his eyes and was about to instinctively activate his ruby to float, before...  
Right.  
No powers.

 _Shit._

Desperate times called for desperate measures...  
He climbed onto the counter.  
Jackpot.

With the cereal acquired, now he needed...  
...bowl, right. And spoon. Sugar, definitely. The milk too.

Infinite set the box of cereal down and slid back onto the floor, then grabbed the first two things from a draining rack by the sink and the third he found in a jar by the kettle. He opened the fridge to get the milk.

No milk.

The jackal pursed his lips in thought.  
Perhaps he could just substitute it with something else?

His eyes scanned the shelves until falling on a carton of orange juice. That could work, right?  
Infinite took the carton and shook it; it sloshed. There was plenty of liquid inside.

He nudged the fridge door shut again with his elbow and started to make his breakfast. Cereal in the bowl, three, no _four_ heaped spoons of sugar, then the juice...  
He didn't hear Gadget come back.

"Infinite... what the fuck are you doing?"

Infinite paused, his hand still poised pouring the juice all over the cereal. He didn't look up.

"Making breakfast? The hell does it look like?"

Gadget sounded disgusted. "You – You're putting _orange juice_ on _cereal!"_

"There was no milk." He stated matter of factly. What was the problem?

The wolf groaned.

"My god. I leave you alone for _five minutes."_

Infinite stopped pouring. He glanced up at Gadget briefly, then did a slight double take. The wolf looked... different.

He now wore an olive green shirt with a print of some dripping black stars, the sleeves at his elbows. His pants were mismatched; the right leg was solid black, but the left was vertically striped with black and beige. Gadget's gloves and shoes were also different, the gloves white and fingerless like his own while his boots were the same green as his shirt with black accents. He had a thick black bracelet on each wrist. While his general colour scheme hadn't changed his aesthetic most certainly had, and it definitely wasn't what Infinite had been expecting.  
The most notable thing, however, was _the metal sticking through his flesh_.

Infinite blinked.

In his right ear, Gadget had two loops and one stud, while in his left, two bars crossing over each other, and several studs. And as he spoke, there was a flash of black on his tongue,

"Pretty cool, huh?"

Infinite blinked; again.

"What on earth are those...?"

Gadget snorted. "My piercings. Told you I'd show you 'em. Don't tell me you forgot."

He felt bewildered. It ... okay, it did look pretty cool though, he had to agree.

"I actually had this one in the whole time," Gadget admitted, as he paused and stuck his tongue out, pointing at the piercing there, "but I had a clear one in instead so you couldn't really see it. If I didn't it'd have closed up."

"The others don't?"

"They can do, but it takes longer. If they ever appeared to be closing I'd put the jewellery back in."

Infinite nodded slowly.

"So you... you just stick things through yourself? Why? Doesn't that hurt?"

Gadget snorted again, in amusement. "'Course it fucking hurts. Well, to get pierced, but not just having them in after that. But people do it for aesthetic reasons. Like, it's worth the pain, you know? Hell, the pain _adds_ to it; kinda makes you look tougher to others when they see you willingly impaled parts of yourself."

...Hm. Looking tougher...  
Impulse seized the jackal.

"I want some."

"Huh?"

"I want piercings too." Infinite repeated simply.

Gadget cocked his head. "...Why?"

"Well, if they can make even _you_ look stronger, imagine how I'd look?"

"...Was that a compliment? Kind of a backhanded one, but I guess I'll take it...?" Gadget scratched the back of his head. "Uh, unfortunately though, to get piercings done you have to go to a professional studio for it. It's not safe without the right equipment and training. Trust me, my..." He paused, sighed, a sad smile upon his lips, "My idiot brother tried to do it himself once. Made a real mess of it."

Infinite bit his lip.  
His brother. Lost because of him.

"And there's obviously no such place providing services right now because of..."  
 _Me._

"Yeah. War and all. Plus, um... needles are involved. To puncture the flesh. They're not like medical ones but... I know you're afr- don't like them. So I'm not sure if you'd really wanna go through with it."

 _Damnit._ Of course it'd require needles for that kind of presicion.  
Infinite grimaced somewhat. "That... does make it a little more difficult. But I suppose if it's out of the question anyway, it doesn't matter right now."

Gadget seemed to think for a moment.  
Suddenly, he clicked his fingers.

"Tell you what. I have some fakes I used to use on my ears before I got the real thing, so... you can have those if you want? And... I can _try_ looking into finding someone who could get the tools and do it, if you think you'd be able to work over the needle thing, though it'll probably take a super long time. Especially given your identity..."

...Why was he being so generous? So accommodating, so, so...  
Nice?

Gadget didn't have to go out of his way and do any of this for him. Why did he _want_ to?  
Was he trying to make Infinite happy...?  
Why-  
Why would he want to make _Infinite_ , of all people, _happy?_

He didn't-  
Didn't understand it, didn't _deserve-_

"Infinite?"

Gadget's voice broke through his thoughts.  
Fuck.

"I'm fine."

...

"...If you're sure. I'll go get my fakes, ok?"

 _Say no, say no say-_

"Ok."

Gadget smiled and went to look for the fake jewellery.  
That _fucking_ smile.

He almost wished Gadget was scowling instead.  
Wished he still loathed Infinite.  
It'd make it easier to hate him too.

Infinite's lip curled. He snarled under his breath.  
 _I do still hate him._  
 _I fucking_ _ **despise**_ _him._  
 _He's vile, he's_ _ **wretched**_ _, he's..._

"Infinite! I found them!"

 _...so infuriatingly fucking_ _ **kind**_ _._  
It was a kindness he didn't deserve.

The wolf came back from his room, and held out his hand, with several fake types of piercing jewellery in.  
"Here," He prompted Infinite to take them.

Infinite took them.  
The strange thing was there seemed to be no kinds of obvious fastening like he'd expected.

"...How do they stay on?"

"They're magnetic." Gadget explained. "See how they're all clumped together? The magnets are pretty strong, so when you put one part of the fake on one side of your ear, and the other part on the other side, they'll magnetise and stay on as they're drawn to each other."

"...Weird. Makes sense, but weird."

The wolf shrugged loosely.  
Infinite looked down at the tiny objects in his hand.

He picked some up, all stuck together, and set the rest on the counter, attempting to pry them apart with his claws to no avail.  
So _annoying._

"Hey, want me to do it? Your claws are longer than mine, so that makes it more fiddly."

And admit he was struggling? _Hell no._

...Thirty seconds passed.  
Nothing.

Infinite growled in irritation and finally gave up.

"...Fine."

"It's ok, you know." Gadget chuckled lightly as he took the wheel and began efficiently pulling the pieces of jewellery apart.

"What is?" The jackal grumbled.

"To need help sometimes. We all do."

...  
Infinite grit his teeth.  
"Not me."

"Why?"

"I'm a fucking _superweapon._ For me to need help is pathetic. I'm not allowed to be _weak_."

Gadget paused, as if finding the right words.  
"...It doesn't make you weak. And to hold yourself to such an impossibly perfect standard is unhealthy."

Infinite growled.  
Lies! Lies, _lies, lies, lies,_ _ **lies!**_

"You could never understand. I'm built to be perfect! I was _made_ to be perfect! For me to be anything short of perfection is a _disgrace_!"

"Nobody can be truly perfect, Infinite..." Gadget sighed. His ears wilted. "Not me, not anyone else... not you."

No, _no_ , no, _you're wrong_ , you're **fucking wrong-**

Anger flared, eyes sparked, chest tightened.  
His fist slammed on the counter. The long forgotten bowl of cereal rattled.  
Gadget jumped.

 _"Shut up."_ He demanded, tone wavering and breathy with fury, maybe something else, "You're wrong. I will be perfect, I _have_ to be perfect, I **_am_** perfect!"  
 _You know that's not true._

Thick silence. And then,

"...Ok." The wolf spoke quietly. "Let's leave this topic behind."

Infinite swallowed.  
He felt – he was so –

He had to calm down.

"Ok."

"Here," Gadget said, gesturing to the jewellery parts, not really meeting his eyes, "they're all apart. Put them where you want."

Infinite nodded numbly.  
He began to try and put the them on his ears. It was difficult when he couldn't really see what he was doing, but he managed to get a couple of pretend studs on his right ear and a ring in his left.

"...They look good," Gadget stated, awkward, as if trying to ease the mood and break the silence, "Suits you."

Infinite didn't say anything.

"Um, you... wanna do something?"

...  
A distraction. Maybe it was worth a shot.  
He sighed.

"Like what?"

Gadget drummed his fingers on the counter.

"How... how about I teach you to play video games?"

Infinite raised a tired, skeptical brow.

"Teach me? How hard could it possibly be?"

 **. . .**

About ten minutes later, Infinite had received his answer; very hard.

As he sat there, cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV with Gadget beside him, the jackal felt completely baffled and perhaps even more aggravated than before partaking in this stupid activity.

 _People do this for_ _ **fun?**_

He stared down at the plastic black controller in his hands, still unable to comprehend why you needed so many buttons, or how the ever-loving hell to memorise all their different functions.

 _Ok, ok, come on... the damn wolf is thrashing you!_

 _Jump to avoid the attack-_  
 _Fuck, that's_ _ **duck-**_

Gadget's character mercilessly wiped the floor with him. Again.

The blinking "Match Over" followed by "Player 1 Wins!" taunted Infinite as he sulkily glared at the screen. Again.

Gadget glanced at him with poorly disguised amusement.

"Still don't need any help?"

Infinite exhaled through his nose in frustration. Again with the help thing? God, this was pissing him off. He could almost conquer the fucking world but was incapable of achieving victory in one of these "video games"?

 _"Absolutely not."_

"Oh, seriously," Gadget rolled his eyes with the faint hint of a smirk, "I can't watch this anymore. Here, I'll go through it with you."

Infinite barely contained a scathing remark. It was only held back by the fact he knew Gadget was trying to be playful rather than actually mock him. It still irritated him... but it could be worse. The way it was spoken with such finality told Infinite that whether he liked it or not, he wasn't getting out of this one anyway. With an exaggerated, disgruntled sigh, he shrugged his shoulders in bitter defeat.

 _"Fine."_

The wolf grinned. "Right."

Gadget shuffled closer to Infinite, bumping their shoulders together. He bristled slightly at the sudden, unexpected contact, but resisted the urge to shrink away. To do so would give the impression of cowardice.

God, not this again, what part of "don't touch me" had he not understood back at the base just the other day?

"Ok, so, I'm gonna walk you through the buttons slowly," Gadget began. "This one here," He leant close, reached over and guided Infinite's hand to hover his finger over one with a grey-blue cross, "Is jump."

If their proximity hadn't been jarring enough already, the sensation of Gadget's hand gently leading his own most certainly was. It was almost overwhelming. The feeling of their brushing arms and fingers, the scent of Gadget's breath, he was close, _way too close,_ not again -

Infinite swallowed a protest in the back of his throat and nodded absently. He wasn't - he didn't know -  
He wasn't used to being touched. And the few times he had been prior to this, the great majority only ever resulted in pain, some sort of new wound, a scar.

Gadget, oblivious as ever, didn't seem to notice his rigid, awkward body language.

"The circle button," He continued, again moving Infinite's hand, "is to kick. Square is punch. And triangle makes you duck down."

Once more Infinite nodded, just praying this little tutorial would be over soon. The urge to just shove Gadget away, just like at the resistance stronghold, was growing stronger by the second and he didn't know how long he could keep himself from acting on it.

"The directional keys, of course, move you in different directions, as does the left analog stick. If you press in a direction while holding triangle, you can do a roll. If you press the other buttons in an order it creates combo attacks! Like, three circles, two squares, circle again..."

"...And this is where you lose me." Infinite remarked dryly, finally mustering the ability to speak.

Gadget chuckled, but then seemingly finally noticing how close they were and how stiff Infinite was, immediately withdrew, no longer smiling at all. The jackal internally sighed in relief.

Thank **god.**

"Shit. Sorry, I ... um, I forgot you - you don't like being touched. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Infinite blinked, attempting to calm his nerves after the fleeting contact; his heart thumped a bit faster, his thoughts were a bit unsteady. How could Gadget be so casual about getting into his personal bubble? Was this ... was this common among normal people? To just - to just touch each other all the time?

He didn't really understand.

It wasn't - It hadn't _hurt,_ it wasn't _awful_ \- so there was that.  
Wait. It wasn't ... awful ... ?

Infinite twitched and curled his fingers in discomfort.

Yes. Yes it _was._ It was awful. It was completely, entirely, one hundred percent awful. It was horrible in every sense of the word. Touch couldn't be anything _but_ bad, no, _especially_ not with - with _him._

Oh, right. Him. He was still waiting for any kind of response.

"Look, just," Infinite took a deep breath, "just leave it."

Gadget fidgeted, biting his lip. "... Ok. Just - I wanted you to know it wasn't on purpose."

An awkward silence fell between them.

"You, uh ... you wanna try another round?"

Attempting to create a distraction. Again. He just wished it didn't have to be this idiotic game.  
Infinite sighed.

"Sure."

 **. . .**

And so, they spent a grand total of three hours playing the idiotic game.

Honestly, Infinite wasn't sure when he started easing up a bit, but it was ... it was kind of addictive, once you actually knew what the hell to do. Not to mention, a way for them to both get their minds off of, all this. He had managed to catch up with Gadget and they'd been keeping score in a small notepad; currently the two were tied at equal wins. They'd decided to call it a session when the clock struck one o'clock in the afternoon, and now the two were indulging in a light lunch.

"...So," Infinite swallowed a piece of bread and jam, idly flicking an ear in Gadget's direction, "What else do you do to entertain yourself around here?"

The wolf shrugged. "Not much, honestly. I, uh, have some board games, but I've never touched them... kinda hard to play them solo. Could try those if you want."

"Yeah."

It was so strange. The two of them just co-existing, being so _domestic_ after so much fighting. Infinite still thought Gadget was out of his mind to take him in, really.

He studied the wolf from one end of the couch.

Gadget was difficult to understand sometimes. Ok, Gadget was difficult to understand _most_ of the time.

He was compassionate, but not stupid; he kept some guard up even if not nearly as much as his new roommate.  
He could be gentle, but also firm and stubborn. He seemed so anxious inside, but he was also able to backtalk and tease him without breaking a sweat.

But his motivations were the most puzzling of all.

Why?  
Why save Infinite, why save _him?_  
Why save someone who _terrorised_ you and your friends and family and... literally everybody else on the planet?

He'd thought about it time and time over and still couldn't get it. The wolf didn't seem naive but... he was doing something so clearly _foolish_ , so blatantly illogical, not even for anything in return!

Infinite concluded Gadget must just be crazy.

Suddenly, the jackal was snapped out of his thoughts as Gadget cocked his head, and said,

"What?"

Infinite blinked, and echoed, "What?"

Gadget slowly smiled. "Didn't you once tell me it's rude to stare?"

...Infinite huffed. He feels his cheeks heat a little. Brat.

"You - You can't just -" He fumbled over his words in frustration, then simply groaned, "Shut up."

Gadget snickered.

"Fine, fine."

 **. . .**

After finishing lunch, they played one of the board games.

Infinite found that he liked "Monopoly" significantly less than the video game.

* * *

Notes: hey guys. so. im sorry for not updating in so long. i mean ... i guess youre used to it by now but i still feel bad.

truth is ive... kinda been really struggling. i hit a really bad low with my already poor mental health and while i'm finally trying to get help its not just gonna get better right away. my motivation took a huge nosedive with it. its not that i didnt WANT to keep writing i just... couldnt. but even if i still struggle for a bit i promise this fic wont end up being abandoned. its not only important to me, but seeing it makes you guys happy, theres no way i could just stop!

to try and regain motivation ive done tweaking of a few previous chapters. so if anyone ever rereads, you may spot minor changes.

i'm also sorry if this chapter isn't up to expectation/im letting yall down. the pacings kinda off, it feels choppy, god i dont like it but i wanted to get SOMETHING out cause i feel guilty. its... really not my best mostly due to the aforementioned issue of me being dead inside, but another factor is originally this was going to be an entirely different chapter. BUT i felt like i needed just a bit more in between; so i shuffled things and added this one in first. it's pretty filler, and again i apologise, but i uh, tried hard to make it interesting ! its more of a subtle and domestic style of development chapter as gadge and inf still try and co exist and get used to each other, and learn a few things...

FINALLY on a happier note than my depression and foreboding fic angst, one last thing... i'd like to share with you all some fuckin GORGEOUS art i got from my friend tai ( superemeralds) of the boys! his work is honestly amazing. he also has an account here where you can find some of his written work which is also mega nice!

links to the art, bless u tai, ily

(1) post/184276854410/commission-for-gadgetsboyfriend-follow-him

(2) post/184283177255/commission-for-gadgetsboyfriend-follow-him

this is exactly how they both appear in the fic aside from that infinite as of now doesn't yet have all his piercings! hopefully you can now visualise them much easier! :D i have refs ive been working on but i couldnt finish colouring as my laptop is dead atm.

anyway. ive rambled waaaay too much so uhh. i hope you enjoyed the chapter !


	7. When it Rains

"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are." - Mewtwo

* * *

 **vii.**

Two more days had passed cooped up in Gadget's apartment. Two more days of offhand quips, awkward exchanges, and continued struggle as both of them kept adapting to each other.

Infinite awoke on a dull morning, his fifth morning since leaving that godawful resistance base, to the faint pitter-patter of rain and Gadget shaking him.

"Infinite? Are you awake? C'mon, wake up."

The jackal buried his face deeper in his blanket and blindly swatted.  
No contact. He'd missed.

"I am _now_ ," he grumbled irritably, twitching his ears, "Go away."

Gadget sighed.

"Sorry. Listen, I just need to let you know I'm going out today," he said, "and while I could get someone to come over and watch you while I'm gone, I'm putting my trust in you not to leave the house or do anything stupid. Ok?"

Infinite's half-asleep brain tried to process what had been said. It was way too damn early for social interaction of any sort. Gadget was going out... Gadget was... trusting him?  
No, that couldn't be right. He must have misheard – Infinite was surely the least trustworthy person out there.

"I'll be back by four o'clock." The wolf added when he didn't reply.

Oh. Wow. He _did_ hear right; and by the sounds of it Gadget wasn't even fucking around. He genuinely was placing faith in him. That was... unexpected. Must be even more naive than previously thought.

"Yeah, alright, whatever." Infinite mumbled tiredly, dismissively. "Not like I have anywhere to go in a world that wants me dead."

There was a soft hum. "Well, alright... I'm off then. I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Uh huh..."

Retreating footfalls;  
About ten seconds later, the sound of the front door closing.  
Gadget was gone.

...

...

The silence settled like a blanket.  
Suddenly, something hit Infinite.

This was the first time he'd been truly alone in a while. For almost two weeks he'd been at the resistance headquarters under watch, and he'd been here with Gadget about half of one. It was strange to go from being subject to constant observation to just... nothing. It was merely him and his own thoughts.

...Infinite would've thought he'd be glad to finally get shot of company.  
Instead his surroundings just felt completely lifeless and his mind was already rearing to strike him with things he really didn't want to face right now. Or preferably, ever.

 _You still don't belong here, you know._  
 _You don't belong anywhere._  
 _What even is your life anymore?_  
 _Who even are_ _ **you**_ _anymore?_

 _A lost, broken man reduced to a blank, meaningless existence, relying on who he once swore to be an enemy for help?_

 ** _You don't even know yourself, do you?_**

...Infinite wanted more sleep.

 **. . .**

When he woke up, again, this time of his own accord, it was already three o'clock. Infinite finally mustered the willpower to leave his blanket nest, figuring just laying there in the dark was going to be no help drowning out the _incessant screamfest_ in his head. It wasn't as if he wasn't used to dealing with such kinds of things by now; it had always been there in some form, voices yelling, deameaning, taunting, invading his thoughts, as long as he could remember; only ever changing subject focus now and then. That didn't make it less unpleasant.

He got up, raided the fridge for a piece of fruit, and played a game to pass the time as he decided to just wait for Gadget to get back. What else was there for him to do?  
The damn AI character kept beating him.  
He called it some things that were not meant for the ears of children.

Eventually half an hour had ticked by.  
Then another.  
Four o'clock.

Another half hour.  
Gadget still wasn't home.  
He was probably running late.

Another.  
Five o'clock.

Six o'clock.

Infinite began to feel restless.

"Where the fuck is that idiot..." He muttered to himself, sinking into the couch and leaning his head back.

 _Maybe something happened to him._

He blinked.

 _Nah, nah, couldn't have. Besides, even if it did he can handle it._

Infinite glanced out the window to his left.  
Beads of water slid down the cool glass.

 _How can you be so sure? You don't know what's out there._

A small pit began forming in his stomach. He swallowed.  
That was true, but –

Infinite shook his head.  
Why did it even _matter?_  
Why should it _matter_ if something happened to Gadget?  
It wasn't like he cared about him.

...  
Though, if something did happen, it would still effect the jackal regardless of his feelings toward Gadget. _That_ had to be why he felt so uneasy, yeah; if Gadget was gone _he'd_ be in trouble. What would the resistance nuisances do without Gadget watching him anymore? Nobody else had volunteered to take him in. So that probably meant –  
He'd be in that cell without him.

Infinite sighed wearily.  
Fuck.  
What should he do?  
What _could_ he do?

...Should he go look for Gadget?  
No, no, he was forbidden to go out but-

Thoughts of Gadget, gone. Himself, thrown in a cold prison to rot.

...

He was going to look for Gadget.

Not because he gave two shits about the runt himself, no, the constricting of his chest was merely the dread of certain permanent confinement. He didn't care. He didn't care.  
Infinite didn't care about anyone.

He went and tied his hair; grabbed his jacket from the floor; laced up his boots.  
He checked the door, expecting it to be locked. It swung right open.

Gadget hadn't even bothered locking it?  
He really did trust him not to leave.

...And now he was doing just that.  
He cussed under his breath.  
It was _fine._ He'd be careful. He wouldn't let himself be recognised and if he failed to find the wolf he'd be right back. And if he _did_ end up saving Gadget's ass from something, Gadget would probably be too grateful to even _care_ that he went against his requests.

Infinite left the apartment and glanced at the door behind him. He didn't have a key to lock it; the house was empty and unprotected.  
 _Here's hoping we –_ _ **Gadget**_ _– doesn't get robbed._  
There was no "we". There never would be. This wasn't his home.

He checked the lift. Still out of service, as it had been for god knows how long. The "Not In Order" sign on the wall beside it was yellowing, the tape that held it up slowly peeling.  
 _Stairs it is._  
He headed down and out of the building.

It was drizzling as the jackal stepped into the streets. Not many people seemed to be out right now – the shitty weather was working in his favour. Across the road, a small rabbit was being ushered inside by her parents. Briefly Infinite wondered what it was like; to be born naturally, to grow up, to have a family –  
He bit his lip. No use dwelling on what could never be had, or on...  
...

Focus.

He glanced right, left. It dawned on him that he'd never asked where Gadget was going. What if he went the entirely wrong way? He grit his teeth. He'd just have to hope for the best.

Infinite turned right.

...The world looked much different from the ground.  
When you were powerless.

The buildings loomed, cracked and crumbling in places as he walked the barren roads. He felt... small. Exposed. He stopped to look at one that been completely wrecked to the ground, a sorry pile of debris. Infinite tried to remember if this one had been him. He couldn't.

He kept going.

Keeping alert for any sign of Gadget and finding none, his determination slowly withered as he realised what a hopeless plan this had been and the rain steadily grew heavier.

Should he go back?  
He'd give it five more minutes.

...

A sense of discomfort began to prick at his skin. A sense of something foreboding.  
Infinite instinctively tightened his fists. He must just be paranoid out in the open like this.

 _You're being ridiculous._

But as he trod down the sidewalk, kicking stray pieces of rubble at his boots, the jackal couldn't shake the feeling he was... he was...  
Being watched.

He was _definitely_ being watched.  
He just fucking _knew._

Infinite squinted through the rain; nobody in sight. Infinite swivelled his ears; couldn't hear anything. _Turn around,_ his instincts demanded.

...

He didn't have the chance.

Without any warning, footsteps rushed from behind and someone tackled Infinite, slamming into his back hard and knocking him to the ground. He sucked a sharp breath through his teeth.

 _Shit!_

He felt the tip of his ruby make contact with the concrete through his jacket and omitted a strangled growl.

 _Double_ _ **shit!**_

His assailant wasted no time in forcibly flipping him onto his back as he writhed and squirmed like a pathetic little earthworm in the soil, grabbing his wrists and pinning them and sitting across his waist so that kicking would also be rendered useless. Infinite was greeted by a man much larger than him with a black mask pulled over his face, only showing violent, icy eyes.

Infinite glowered back.  
 _Just what I fucking need._

"Now that was just too easy. Looks like I caught myself a _puppy."_ The stranger leant in close and spoke in a hard, gruff whisper, "Hey. If you know what's good for you, you're gonna be a good little pup and give me your shit. Maybe then I'll let you go peacefully."

Infinite furiously wriggled to no avail, only succeeding in making the man laugh at him; which further boiled his blood. Rendered defenceless by a mere worthless crook... this bastard was _so goddamn lucky_ that he didn't have his powers anymore or he'd be pummeled to dust. And what was that he called him?

 _Puppy._  
 ** _How fucking dare he._**

He bared his teeth with a viscous sneer. "Oh, I'll give you shit alright."

The stranger snarled.

"And I'm _not_ a pup. You're just an oversized prick."

The grip on his wrists tightened. "Don't be a fuckin' smartass. I want ration cards, rings, valuables I can exchange. A guy has to put food on the table somehow in this mess of a world, you understand."

"I don't." Infinite grunted. "If you're trying to earn my pity, it won't work. Whether or not you starve to death isn't my problem. Besides, you're out of luck," He smirked slightly, "I have nothing on me anyway."

"So, it's gonna be like this..." The stranger shook his head, "you expect me to buy that shit? Nah. You're a bad liar."

"I am _literally_ not even lying."

A scoff. "I'll be the judge of that. I _was_ going to be a real gentlemen and let you fork up your stuff yourself, but now you're making me impatient, little puppy. I think I'll just take it myself and be on my merry way, how about that?"

The man glanced at Infinite's pinned wrists at his sides, and dragged them up above his head. Infinite tugged and pulled back in retaliation, but he hadn't had to use his physical strength in some time; he was used to just effortlessly blasting away threats with his abilities he no longer possessed.

He narrowed his eyes to seething slits.

Outmatched.

The man quickly let go of one wrist and grabbed it with his other hand just below the inhibitor, holding both together.

"Now, then," He eyed Infinite's jacket, let's see what you got in these pockets, shall we?"

With his now free hand, he unzipped each of said pockets one by one.

Loose candies that had been in there god knows long; Gadget must have forgotten to take them out, Infinite thought briefly. A single ring. The man visibly scrunched his nose beneath his fabric mask at the findings.

"The fuck?"

"Told you I didn't have anything." Infinite sighed, rolling his eyes, "Would you be so kind as to screw off now?"

The stranger growled, dissatisfyed. "No, no, you've got to have something better than - than whatever this _trash_ is," He tossed the candies away in a fit of anger, and they rolled into a neaby drain, "We're not done here 'til i say so."

A pause. Suddenly, eyes on his chest.

Infinite froze.

"...Say. You wouldn't happen to have _inside_ pockets, would you?"

Oh fuck.

Oh _fuck._

The hand reached for his zipper.

Infinite's eyes went wide; he mustered all his strength and tried to yank his arms free. No luck.

The zip went down with one quick tug.

 _Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck-_

...

Silence.

...

The man blinked as if he didn't believe what he was seeing, but there it was, right there framed by the rip in his vest; the ruby.

"...Holy shit. You're that fucking jackal, you're Infinite. You're... you're Infinite!"

Infinite's blood ran cold.  
Heart skipped, stomach dropped, breathing hitched.

No. No no no _no no no no no_ _ **no no no-**_  
 ** _Fuck. Shit._** ** _Fuck!_**

This couldn't be happening but it was and oh god what should he do he needs to get away _he needs to run right now._

He tugged at his wrists again, with all his might, and this time he managed to drag them free; the shock had weakened the man's grip to next to nothing, way too slack to hold down a frantic jackal. Using that same element of shock to his advantage before realisation were to catch up, Infinite swung a punch for his eyes and as he reeled back Infinite then shoved him too, forcing him away so he could stagger gracelessly onto his feet.

The stranger recovered relatively quick from the hit, but remained otherwise stunned; rooted in place.  
They stared at each other for a moment.  
Infinite turned and bolted.

"Hey...! Hey, get back here!" The man shouted, and then, louder, "Infinite! It's Infinite, somebody help!"

Infinite heard him start giving chase, still hollering his name, no doubt to attract other pursuers.  
It worked.

In under a minute the once empty street wasn't so empty anymore and before he could even register it there was an angry mob hot on his tail. Adrenaline ignited in his veins, coursing though his body, electric.

He was so fucked, he outed himself, _he was so so fucking_ _ **fucked.**_

Infinite veered into a branching maze of alleyways.

Their mingled, furious voices rung out, bouncing off the walls along with the echo of rapid footfalls as they maintained pursuit.

 _"Stop right there, you monster!"_  
 _"Just turn yourself in before this gets ugly!"_  
 _"I'll make you fucking pay for what you did, scum!"_

Infinite kept up a mad sprint, fighting to stay ahead despite his body's aching protests; while it was true he was built with enhanced strength and stamina, he hadn't had to physically exert himself in some time now. He hated to admit it, but he was a little afraid - he had no idea what they'd do if they caught him. He couldn't let them catch up, he _couldn't._

These were once people who had run from him.  
It felt unnerving to be the one doing the running now. How the tables had turned... he was even more cowardly and helpless than the civilians he once tormented. Is this how he made them feel?

The jackal tried to shake off both them and his thoughts, darting around each corner he came by and diverting down other connecting paths when possible.

The yelling grew a little fainter.

Then he reached a tall, solid wooden fence, with evenly spaced spikes running along the top.

 _Crap._

He cast a glance over his shoulder.

 _Can't turn back, way too risky._

Infinite grimaced.  
He backed up a few paces.  
He ran at the fence, scrambled, and vaulted, just barely wedging his hands between the spikes so he wouldn't inpale his palms.

A curse escaped through his teeth as one of them caught on slightly on his boot and his heart leapt. As gravity dragged him to the ground he just barely righted himself in time and landed in a crouch beside a stack of soggy cardboard boxes.

The voices were gone for now.  
Too close.

He allowed himself to take a short breather and regain his bearings, then straightened upright and flicked his large ears before starting to move onward again; albeit slowly.

Infinite's fur slickened, clinging to his sodden, slouching form as the rain pelted, and usually he would be repulsed, usually he would want to seek shelter immediately, but today wasn't usually and he couldn't bring himself to care about something so trivial as the weather. The sky above was as downcast as his demeanour, the sun blocked out by thick, heavy grey clouds unleashing a torrential, unrelenting shower upon the city.

He tread carelessly through a deep puddle; felt the water seep through his shoes.  
He pulled a shaking breath from the frigid air; filling his lungs with a chill that could almost rival the cold creeping in his chest, his heart succumbing to frostbite.

The jackal paused again, craned his head to the heavens and closed his heterochromatic eyes.

Rivulets of water ran down his tired features as they twisted, guilt, shame and regret gnawing away at his insides like maggots to a rotten carcass, which coincidentally is exactly what he felt like.

It grounded him, if only a little. His grip on reality had been awfully faint as of late.

 _You can't just run away from this. You're putting off going back._

I know, he answered to his own voice, the words ringing clear in his head above even the howl of the wind that whipped his hair.

 _You abused his trust, and now look what's happened. You need to return and say sorry._

I know, he echoed once more.

 _Then_ _ **why**_ _are you still here?_

Infinite pinched the bridge of his snout and exhaled through his nose;

Because he won't want to see me. And now the world knows I'm alive, if they find out he had part in saving me, that he's the one harbouring me, I'll be putting him at risk.

 _Since when do you care about his safety?_

Infinite shook his head.  
He kept walking.

I don't. I just need him to be out of danger so _I_ am. Like it or not... I'm...  
He scrunched his snout.  
...dependent on him.

 _That... makes absolutely_ _ **no**_ _fucking sense. You need to stay_ _ **away**_ _to keep him safe, so that you can safely stay_ _ **with**_ _him?_

Infinite's tail lashed in agitation.

Just for _now._  
Those civilians could still be nearby, I might get tracked if I head back too early.

The voice ignored him.

 _Snrk. And to think? The almighty Infinite, reduced to a powerless imbecile who can't do anything for himself. You've fallen so far._

He kept walking.  
The rain didn't cease.

Infinite stuck to the shadows best he could and thanked the growing, foggy haze when he had to dash through open areas.

After spending a good twenty minutes taking every detour he possibly could, both avoiding his inevitable return to the apartment and wanting to take the most complicated routes he could to deter anyone if they did manage to figure out which way he went, he found himself treading up those lousy stairs again.

Water dripped and trailed.  
He reached the correct floor.  
Opened the door.

Nobody greeted him.

Infinite felt numb.

He decided to go out on the balcony. He was only just outside, but god, he needed air. The jackal turned the key in the door and slid it open, walking unsteadily. He'd never been out here before. The area was small, closed in with a roof and walls on both sides that separated it from those of other tenants living in the block. There was a deck chair with a couple of small cushions, a tiny wooden stool serving as a table next to it stained with mug rings, some string lights, and a bunch of plants.

Infinite disregarded the chair; stepped forward and leant on the railing, staring out at the murky, choppy sea and distant Red Gate bridge.

 _And so the hunter has become the hunted._

He exhaled slowly.

 _I suppose it's a fitting punishment._

Infinite wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there before he heard the front door. A couple of thumps, some rustling, then;

"Infinite?" Came a frantic, hushed call, "Infinite, please be here...!"

His heart simultaneously rose and sunk.

Time to face the thunder.  
As if accentuating this, the sky rumbled.

"Out here."

There was a sigh of relief, but also of frustration, sadness... betrayal.  
Gadget joined him on the balcony.

"Infinite... fuck. Why? I trusted you, and you – and now – I got a call from the others telling me civilians were mass reporting Infinite sightings, what the hell did you-"

He didn't know why the words stung.

"I'm sorry," Infinite said, without thinking, without turning his head, "I messed up."

Gadget stopped, sighed again.  
"Yeah. You did. Did you... did you hurt anyone?" He whispered, as if fearing the answer.

Infinite shook his head. "No." Then, "Well... only the guy that jumped me."

"Wait, wait," The wolf sounded confused now, and who could blame him, "jumped? Someone assaulted you? Did they already know you're..."

"No," He repeated, "He thought I was a normal civilian. I was minding my own goddamn business when the fucker came up behind me and before I knew it I was on the ground. He said he wanted ration cards and money."

Gadget was quiet for a moment. "So you only retaliated in self defence and he somehow found you out? You _swear_ to me you really didn't attack anyone else?"

The jackal found himself growing tired of feeling interrogated, but he knew he had this coming.

 _"Yes._ He found me out because he unzipped my jacket, so I punched him and ran. He started yelling my name and chasing me. Others joined... I lost them, luckily."

...

"The reports we got... said otherwise." Gadget spoke quietly. "They said you were trying to hurt people."

Oh.

"So you don't believe me," Infinite uttered without emotion, "I suppose that's to be expected."

"I... don't know."

The wolf seemed more disappointed than angry.  
Somehow that felt even worse.

"What took you so long?" He found himself ask. "You were two hours late."

He finally dared to glance at Gadget; Gadget blinked, didn't respond for a second, and then,

"Wait, were you... did you do that, as in, did you go out because... Infinite, were you _worried_ about me?"

 _"No."_ Infinite replied all too quickly.

Gadget's expression softened. He paused, exhaled; and smiled slightly. "Ok."

God, Infinite hated that smile.

Another period without words. He looked out to the ocean again, trying to spot the line where sea and sky met. It was too misty. He thought he might have seen the vague shape of a boat, though.

The words of his pursuers that day rang in his head once again. Their hate, their anger...

He sighed.

There seemed to be a lot of sighing today.

A seagull cawed faintly and suddenly he couldn't take the quiet anymore.

"I really fucked up."

"Didn't you acknowledge that earlier?" Gadget questioned.

"Not just..." He gripped the rail, was he really going here, yes apparently because his lips were still moving, "Not just today. Everything."

...

"...Elaborate." The wolf finally said, softly.

Infinite's mind twisted and contorted, caved on itself;  
His thoughts sizzled, bubbled, frothed and threatened to spill over.  
He opened his mouth and then closed it again, unable to find words and then repeated the process two more time before finally-

"Gadget?"

"Yeah?"

...Infinite exhaled through his nose, shoulders sagging tiredly, "Why am I here?"

"What...?"

He gripped the rail again, harder this time, and echoed again, "Why am I here?"

"I don't... understand what you mean."

His chest heaved.  
Breathe in, out.

"I failed in my sole objective, my only task. The thing I was _made_ to fulfil. It's gone. It's done. What am I supposed to," he paused, grit his teeth, why was he still talking, why couldn't he _stop_ , it was all spilling out now, words tumbling, Gadget didn't deserve to know but, "What the fuck am I even supposed to _do_ anymore?! Without this goal, my existence is... it's meaningless! This is all just _meaningless!_ I don't have a purpose anymore, so why, _why,_ **_why am I here?_** All my work... what was it all even _for?!_ "

Gadget didn't say anything for a good ten seconds.

"...I don't know what it was for," He admitted, then asked, "What were you thinking when you... did all that?"

Infinite went rigid.

Eggman's commands; Eggman's threats; His-

Black and white and red and red and red and red and red and red-

...

"Infinite?" Gadget's voice brought him back.

"Because I was ordered to." He breathed stiffly.

Gadget didn't buy it.

"You're dodging," He had the absolute gall to accuse, and Infinite despised how easy he hit the mark, "There's more, isn't there? You hesitated."

"There _isn't,"_ he immediately bristled, this was too close, too close, he couldn't tell him, "you're just desperately looking for something where there's nothing so you can feel better about saving me. Because maybe if I had more of an actual reason it'd make me less of a monster. But I _don't._ "

"But-"

 _"Drop it."_

...

There was a moment of silence between them, the only sound being Infinite's slightly ragged breaths and the amplified beats of the rain.

And then, Gadget said,

"...You know, you could always just choose your own."

"What?"

"Your own purpose." He clarified, so simply. "You said you don't have one anymore. So what's stopping you deciding one for yourself?"

...

Infinite turned his head, staring at him like he'd gone nuts.  
Choose his own... but... _what?_  
To not take orders? To form his own goals and just do... to do... whatever he wants? Was he allowed to just do that? Can people just _do that?_

"What the hell do you mean...? There's – it can't be that easy, it can't, there's no way." He shook his head. "I wasn't made to pursue and control my own destiny or some bullshit, I was made to obey; Eggman gave me my purpose, and he..."

"And he's not here anymore. Infinite," Gadget placed a hand, gentle but firm on his forearm, their eyes locked, "I know this is hard for you to understand, but... but you don't have to let anyone else decide your fate for you. You don't have to take commands anymore, your path is your own to choose; you're free."

Infinite stared, stared up because Gadget was irritatingly that much taller than him, blinked.  
He was...  
He was really able to...?

Free.  
He was free?

"How can I be free when I'm housebound in a world that wants my head on a pike?"

Gadget paused, hesitated. "It's... a different kind of free. Freedom of the mind. To make your own choices."

"But – But what if I don't _know_ what I want to do?"

What **_did_** he even want now? He'd never even known a life outside of the Empire before; he didn't know the world, his options...

"It'll come to you in time. And you could always think about what you _don't_ want to do. That might help you figure it out."

...Infinite went quiet. He had a lot to think about.

Gadget seemed to detect this; he smiled wearily.

"Hey.. don't stress it too much. Tell you what, I got some fresh groceries today. You wanna go inside and have dinner? It's getting pretty cold out here. Windy, too," He glanced at the sky as it thundered again, "I think a storm's on the way."

...

Infinite nodded slowly.

No use overwhelming himself right now.

They went indoors. Both of them decided to strip away their soaked clothes, and Infinite who'd especially started feeling the effects of spending so long out in the rain earlier was offered Gadget's fluffy shower robe. He was a bit reluctant, but took it with a bit of prodding... and he couldn't say he regretted it. It was warm. Even if he was probably going to reek of the wolf now.

Gadget got started on dinner; he let Infinite try to help, and both of them were quick to learn that neither really had a clue what they were doing. But, with their two clueless minds combined into one slightly less clueless mind, they actually made something somewhat passable.

As the two sat on the couch that night eating some kind of pasta dish, Infinite mulled over what would happen now that the public knew he was alive with a sense of dread - but also over Gadget's words to him. And while still he doubted their legitimacy...

...for some reason, they stuck.

* * *

Notes: it pours.

things are gonna hit the heavy portion of the fic at this point.

thank you for following the story so far everyone. whether you follow, fav, review - or just read silently! it all means a lot to me. we've finally come to a moment i've had planned for so, so many months; before i even began writing this story, THIS CHAPTER, in particular the closing scene of it, has been in my head just waiting to be thrown out here. the fact i've gotten this so far... it makes me so happy!

you might be concerned that if the main thing stated in the fic premise i.e gadget teaching infinite he can define his own purpose is brought up so early on, that we're near the end and infinite's gonna be like, "oh, ok then" just like that. i assure you thats FAR from the case. gadget has drilled in some important words but it'll still take time for infinite to fully recover and find his way. i hope yall stick around for it!

and for those wanting more gadget centric stuff after so much infinite, don't worry - i promise it'll come! we're gonna be getting in his headspace more soon enough!

ive been writing for hours straight now to finish this. faster ive ever gotten a chapter out after the previous update! had a burst of motivation. i hope you enjoy reading this and that the moment lived up to what ive hoped. might make lil edits if i read back and am unsatisfied! mostly the fightish scene i dont like in this one tho. not my strong point.

til next time, my dudes ! i have a pounding headache so im not proofreading pls bear that in mind jgjbjibj

p.s yes i quoted mewtwo. mewtwo is wise. deal w it

EDIT (17/06/19): fleshed out some stuff, edited in particular the controller scene !


	8. Yellow

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it." - Flannery O'Connor

* * *

 **viii.**

 _It's not funny,_ Gadget berated himself for the upteenth time, _it's not funny, not at all. There's nothing amusing about this._

But the jackal sneezed again and, damnit, he couldn't help but let his lips quirk up a little. Ok, he conceded. Maybe it was a _little_ funny.

Infinite, the man who had helped bring the world to shambles, was currently wrapped up like a burrito on his couch with a cold.

"You really should've taken an umbrella out yesterday. There was one in the hall."

Infinite scowled, sniffed, and sunk deeper into the blanket, wriggling in a manner akin to that of a snake. The shift in movement disrupted several balls of tissue scattered around him, and they rolled off the seat onto the floor. "I didn't notice."

"Your sneezes sound like puppy sneezes."

A disgruntled noise, slightly muffled, came from within the soft cocoon, followed by only a mildly scathing,

"I'll tear you limb from limb."

Gadget chuckled less than politely. To think that this individual had once struck fear into his heart... in this moment, Infinite was the least intimidating thing he had ever seen - it was _impossible_ to take the threat seriously. That, and he was used to this attitude and he was _pretty_ sure Infinite didn't really mean it.

...He uh, didn't mean it, right?

Gadget swallowed. He shook off the usual twinge of anxiety. No, if Infinite had it out for him, he'd have probably acted by now.

"Aha, but if you did that, then who'd bring you food?"

Infinite's head was poked out just enough for the wolf to see him roll his eyes, and he twitched his ears; but said nothing.

"Speaking of which, you want breakfast? Soup, maybe a sandwich?"

The blanket moved in a way that Gadget perceived as Infinite shrugging.

"Helpful," He remarked, poking out his tongue, "Soup it is, you insufferable grump."

Infinite huffed.

Gadget headed into the kitchen, leaving him to sulk, delving into one of the cupboards for a tin of tomato soup. Briefly, he remembered the first time he had brought Infinite soup back at the base; and the fuss the jackal had made. He was still a handful now, but... a little less than before. That was progress. They were making progress.

Gadget smiled slightly. He couldn't deny he felt a little proud, chipping away at Infinite's shell. He often doubted whether he could really pull this off, if he was in over his head but... maybe, just maybe, there really was hope.

Now, where was the can opener again... ah - there we go. He removed the lid, careful not to cut his fingertips on the sharp edges, and tipped the contents of the tin into a bowl before shoving it into the microwave for a couple of minutes.

While it hummed, and he waited, he leant against the counter and found his thoughts drift again, this time wandering back to the conversation he'd had with Infinite on the balcony just last night.

He had never seen Infinite that vulnerable before. He looked so... lost, so hollow, so _defeated,_ wet clothes clinging to his frame and accentuating just how small he really was. Even a little... fragile? While he still experienced mixed feelings toward him frequently, Gadget, he just, didn't like seeing that.

He meant every word he spoke to Infinite. He could only hope the jackal truly heard them. That somehow, they resonated.

He wanted Infinite to grow and do better.  
He wanted Infinite to recover.  
Despite everything, everything Infinite had done, he wanted him to find peace; something it was blatantly clear he'd never had.

Sometimes when he laid awake at night, he thought about the war, and he felt the hate seep in, the anger, boiling fury stinging hot beneath his skin and he thought about Infinite in the next room over and wondered _why_ , why why **why** was he doing this but...

He realised he was more affected by the war than Infinite himself. Yes, Infinite was a root cause of the war, yes that did get under his skin, _obviously_. But Gadget didn't - he didn't hate Infinite. He hated his actions. That was an important distinction.

He'd do his exercises. Breathe in, hold for five seconds. Breathe out for seven seconds. Repeat.

There was also something else he realised.

If anyone else had been in Infinite's position, born to destroy and knowing only that, hell if it were _him._.. it was a greatly unsettling thought but he probably would've done the same. He wanted to tell himself no, no, he could never, but... brought up under only Eggman's cold iron influence? Circumstances can make or break someone, Gadget knew, and Infinite's had been... far fucking less than ideal to say the least. The concept of living like that was enough to make anyone shudder. He wondered just what on earth Infinite's life had been like up until now...

The microwave beeped.  
He shook himself out of his thoughts.

Using a tea towel to grip around the bowl so he wouldn't burn his hands, Gadget carefully removed the steaming soup and brought it over to Infinite, setting the bowl on the coffee table and then grabbing a spoon for him as well.

"Here. Don't eat it too fast, it's still hot and you don't need a scalded tongue as well."

Infinite narrowed his eyes. "Stop treating me like a child. I know how to eat soup."

"Maybe I wouldn't treat you like a child if you didn't keep acting like one." He teased with a small smirk, raising a brow.

Infinite growled, though didn't bite back.  
The blanket shuffled again as he tried to free his arms.

"Need any h-"

 _"No."_

Gadget rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself. I'm gonna go get myself something too so-"

This time, it was a shrill ringing that cut him off, coming from his bedroom. Shit, phone. Ugh. He hated phone calls, why couldn't people just _text?_

Leaving Infinite to wrestle against the blanket, Gadget reluctantly scurried to go get it, and fumbled the small device in his hands for a moment in his haste before swiping to accept the call from Sonic's number. A number he'd definitely never have expected to have just weeks ago.

"Hey, uh..." He tried to come up with something to say, couldn't, oh god he was being so awkward _already_ , cleared his throat, "...hey."

 _"Hey."_ Sonic bounced back, without much of his usual enthusiasm. Gadget heard him take a deep breath in. _"Oooook... I could grace you with the 'how are you's and whatnot, but, you know I'm not one for beatin' around the bush. Listen, bud, you... you probably know what this is gonna be about. We need to, like... talk. About the other day, about... Infinite..."_

"Yeah..." Gadget spoke, quietly, swallowing a lump in his throat, "I, I, know, I'm... sorry for leaving him unattended. It was really stupid and I-"

 _"Hey, hey,"_ Sonic interrupted, _"Don't beat yourself up, man."_

"But... it's thanks to me that..."

 _"Nuh uh, we all make mistakes. You... you couldn't have known. Besides, there's no use worryin' about it now, it's done, that won't solve anything - we need to focus on the present."_

Gadget took a breath. Sonic was right.

"And I take it that's why you called?"

 _"Yup,"_ He confirmed, popping the p, _"Gotta try and take control of the situation before it gets even more outta hand. The civilians are in hysteria, it's... it's bad."_

He bit his lip, shuffling from foot to foot, and glanced out of his window; it hadn't stopped raining since yesterday.

"What do you propose we do...? Have you guys made up a plan?"

 _"Well, uh, sorta? Not exactly? There's... a divide."_

"A divide?"

 _"Yeah... on what to do."_ There was a sigh on the other end of the line. _"Some of the guys are sayin' we should throw him in that cell after all, that this is all a waste of time."_

Gadget's stomach plummeted like a stone.

"No, no, you can't..." He began to slowly pace back and forth, nudging a stray soda can with his toes, restless, "He's been showing signs of improvement, he-"

 _"Signs of improvement?"_ Sonic questioned, confused. _"Uh, Gadge... no offense, but I don't think him tryin' to do a runner and attack innocents is exactly what I'd call progress."_

"But - he didn't."

 _"What?"_

Gadget plucked at the hem of his shirt.  
He had to stay calm.

"He told me last night... he promised he didn't and I..."

 _"Believe him?"_ Sonic finished.

"Yeah. I... I trust him. I know it must sound crazy but... I do. And I can't let all we're building up be ruined over this. He _needs_ to stay with me."

There was a pause.  
The rain drummed on the window pane.

 _"Ok... if Infinite really is telling the truth, this changes things. But it's gonna be pretty hard to convince the others to take his word over those of civilians."_

"I would figure." Gadget sighed. "Sonic?"

 _"Yeah?"_

"Do you... believe him?"

...

 _"Yeah."_ The hedgehog echoed after a quiet hesitation. _"Well, I guess. It's sorta like... I trust you and therefore him by extension? You know him better than all of us and if you don't think he's lying... neither do I."_

Gadget felt relief swell in his chest.

"Thanks... I... I really appreciate that."

 _"Don't mention it. Thing is... we still have to get the others on our side, and, Gadget, I uh... I don't think I can do it alone. Is it... safe to leave Infinite by himself for a bit?"_

Leaving Infinite alone again... he couldn't say he _liked_ the idea, but he figured it'd probably be ok.

"I think so," Gadget bit his lip, "He has no powers to either attack if he really did want to, or defend with, and surely knows if he goes out everyone will be on high alert for him... The odds aren't in his favour in the slightest and he isn't stupid."

Sonic hummed in agreement. _"That makes sense. Then... I don't suppose you could come down to HQ right now and back me up on this? I think having him stick with you is the much better choice too, I just, can't get through to everyone. Amy's on our side. Silver too, and some of the others, but not all."_

"Say no more." Gadget told him, already reaching for his keys that laid on his nightstand. "I'll be there ASAP. Twenty minutes tops. Sorry, not quite as fast as you, I know."

Sonic laughed. _"It's cool. See you soon, dude. We'll set this right."_

"Damn right." Gadget smiled. "Catch you in a bit."

He hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket, heading out of his room only to find Infinite staring at him from the lounge. His ears were perked and twitching, indicating he'd heard most, if not all, of the conversation from his side.

Fuck. He should've closed his door.

"Infinite, it's-"

"It's _fine."_ Infinite interrupted with a hard sigh, blatantly lying, "I figured something like this was inevitable. Hand me off. Go ahead, whatever," he made a dismissive hand gesture, "I can't stop you."

... For god's sake.

Damnit, why did he have to take every single chance to be difficult? It was like he _wanted_ a reason to be mad at Gadget so he was grasping at whatever he could ...

"Did you not even _listen_ to anything I said?" Gadget groaned somewhat, exasperated. "I'm on your side."

Infinite's expression faltered. He fell quiet and glanced away.

Gadget approached the couch, folded his arms as he stared down at the jackal who wouldn't meet his gaze. "Look at me."

Infinite wouldn't look.

"Infinite." Gadget said, more sternly.

Infinite still wouldn't look.

Gadget sighed, knelt in front of him, and slid his fingers beneath Infinite's chin, tipping it up firmly so the jackal had no _choice_ but to look.

"You know what, I'll admit it. I guess I did kinda lie," He stated, staring him in the eyes with a calmness that was only slightly forced, "you don't need to be here."

Infinite's brows furrowed and he went to speak but Gadget shook his head,

"I _want_ you to be here."

Infinite blinked.  
Stared.  
Blinked once more.

He said nothing. Gadget released him and pulled back.

"I'm not letting them take you. So cool it."

...

...

"Ok."

Gadget straightened up again and twirled his keys.

"I take it you know better than to head out today."

Infinite snorted, but it sounded forced, like he was distracted, struggling to focus. "Obviously."

"Sweet. I'll be back..." He pursed his lips, "...Honestly, I don't know when. In time for dinner at the most. I promise."

"Don't care." The jackal replied dryly, though he did seem to relax a little.

Gadget smiled slowly, knowingly, that subtle gentle change in body language didn't go over his head, Infinite really wasn't as indifferent as he made out to be. He began heading for the door, glancing over his shoulder, "Uh huh. See you later. Try not to sneeze yourself to death while I'm gone."

"Fuck you."

He couldn't help but chuckle.

As the wolf closed the door behind him, he heard a faint _"achoo!"_.

* * *

Infinite couldn't wrap his head around the last ten minutes. The phone call. Gadget's words. He said - he had said, he wanted him here. _Why?_ Nothing made sense, all he'd been doing was causing trouble for the wolf and -

Another sneeze disrupted his thoughts, one of god knows how many. He lost count after about twenty.

"Fucking hell..."

It'd been a while since he'd had to deal with illness. The foul doctor had ceased most of the experiments during the war so as to keep his weapon in top form. Having a cold was as unpleasant as he remembered though; stuffy nose hindering his breathing while at the same time the joy of nasal discharge, a headache, and incessant sneezing. Wonderful.

He felt pathetic.

Infinite blew his snout into a tissue.

He'd had a lot worse though.

Seeing as it was going to be another solo day, he figured he might as well just go back to bed at this rate. It was a win-win-win. Escape boredom, dealing with his cold, and his thoughts. Would Gadget succeed in keeping him living here, or would he be left to rot in the resistance basement by tommorrow's sunrise?

Best not to dwell on it.

He began to shift and shuffle, trying to find a comfortable position in which to rest.

Frustratingly, for the better half of an hour, sleep was adamant to elude him, but finally, he found himself drifting off into slumber.

 **. . .**

It was raining.

Infinite ran, raced, sprinted to the erratic beat of his heart as the sky growled and cried. Wait. Why was he running? What was he running _from?_

His surroundings gradually shifted more into focus around him, glitching and wavering. Narrow, high brick walls, winding pathways, his boots drummed on hard concrete - another recreation of events already passed, only this time far more recent.

Shouting.

 _"Get back here!"_

 _"You can't run forever!"_

 _"You're dead meat, jackal!"_

The voices howled, reverberating above the shrill of the wind.

Faster, faster, he could hear them gaining now, catching up, he had to go _faster._

Breaths accelerated.

Chest constricted.

Legs burned.

Run, run, run, run, run, _run, run, run, run, run, run, run,_ _ **run -**_

He turned a corner and met a dead end. Dread filled his veins.

Shit.

Their angry footsteps quickly came to halt behind his. He spun around only to be shoved before he could react, back slamming hard against the wall, he hit his head, _pain_ , someone else kicked him, _more pain_ , a punch, his nose was bleeding, he thrashed and snarled, they hit him again, _why couldn't he fight -_

Becoming winded from a particularly rough jab in the stomach Infinite gasped, pulling air into his lungs. Blow after blow after blow, they were screaming and yelling and he wheezed, everything was going so fast, dizzy, he caught glimpses of fists, boots, blank faces where eyes and noses and mouths should be.

 _"This is what you get!"_

 _"You seriously thought you'd get off scot-free?"_

 _"You're fucking disgusting."_

He hissed and snapped, struggling, he was _not_ going to be conquered by a bunch of these fucking worms, but the fight was leaving him, everytime he regained his bearings even slightly he was brought right back down - he tried to curl on himself, felt something _crack_ , but he wouldn't whimper, couldn't give them that satisfaction, deep breaths.

 _It only hurts if you let it it only hurts if you let it_ _ **it only hurts if you let it it only hurts if you let it -**_

The insults scraped at his ears, hard and degrading and he was beginning to think it'd never stop. He was done for, he was so _weak,_ **_pitiful_** , and then one voice rose above the garbled, mingled noise, the hits ceased, he looked up,

The civilians loomed over his beaten body as one shoved to the front, pushing through the rest of the crowd, paying no mind to whoever got in his way as he knocked several people aside. Just like the others he was without a face, and yet somehow, Infinite could feel his gaze burning a hole through him.

 ** _"You."_**

The word was thick, overflowing with cold hatred.

 _"You killed them."_

The person's hands shook, the world began to distort, the words of the rest of the mob simmered into white noise as their figures flickered and faded, leaving only the two of them.

 _"You,"_ His voice began to waver and shift pitch and tone, _"the closest thing I had to a family and_ _ **you..."**_

Infinite's gut churned. Why was he - why did this feel so -

 ** _"You fucking killed them! This is all your fault!"_**

He flinched. A frigid bolt of recognition shot through the jackal and he paled as the person in front of him began to change too, no, no, _no this couldn't,_ but he was gone leaving -

Leaving Subject Twenty-Five in his place.  
Leaving _Infinite_ in his place.

And as Infinite stared, frozen, looking into the mirror...

...full of rage and grief, two yellow eyes stared back.

 _"They're gone, and it's all your fucking fault."_

 **. . .**

Infinite's eyes shot open.

* * *

Notes: :)

(sorry for not updating in so long, as our lord sans undertale would put it ive been having a Bad Time -

aLSO sorry that this chapter is a lil short, it wouldve been longer but. cliffhanger ykno? the next will pick up right where we left off. i hope the dream sequence wasnt TOO shabby but ive been writing for hours and started to get a headache. its p hard to do as good of a job and to proofread so FORGIVE MY ERRORS but i wanted this chapter out today. eeeee

EDIT (17/06/19): and this wraps up the edits! ok so ... i wasn't originally going to tamper with as much as i have throughout chapter alteration. where i once thought rereading wouldn't be that important, at this point, i would now def recommend it. I'm gonna add a note about the changes onto my next chapter when it goes up ! ty for reading !  
also shoutout to my mystery helper goblin, of whom shall not be named, for helping me out while i fight my long term nemesis, Mister Brain

hello its me a goblin :3


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